Struggling Starlight
by Rydrake Kyuubi
Summary: MIGRATED FROM DEVIANTART. The story follows Seiya and Kenta Takenaka, half-siblings through two different fathers. One night, their demonic father brainwashes their mother and goes on the attack. Kenta discovers his demonic powers while Seiya has developed an unknown ability. Following the main plot, can they along with the Okumura Twins bring down Satan, or will Satan prevail?
1. Strong Starlight

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 1:  
Strong Starlight**

Five years ago…

"Brother? Brother! What's going on? Why did you…why did you kill our parents?" a young girl on her hands in knees, trying to push herself up asks.

Her brother sighs responding, still holding a blood-covered kitchen knife, "Because Sis…they weren't our parents five minutes ago…"

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Don't you get it?! They were possessed! They were about to kill you! I…I had to do something."

Then the girl notices something about her brother. He all of a sudden has pointed ears and a tail with a furry tuft on the end of it. Black and purple flames dance on the end of his tail and part of his body. She then notices white and golden flames dancing around her, yet she has no tail or pointed ears. Lost in confusion, the siblings have no idea what to do, or even what's going on.

"…Brother…you're…a demon?"

"Oh please, don't act like you've never known!"

"What other secrets have you been keeping from me? TELL ME!"

"And you…you're not a demon, yet you have flames! Just what are you, huh?"

"ENOUGH!"

Later that night, the tired siblings walk down empty streets partly covered in their parents' blood. The boy can't help but weep, tears falling onto the cold ground. The girl is exhausted, but together they hold each other up, until her brother finally collapses. She tries to get him to stand, but he's unable to continue. Before she could drag him into an alleyway, someone appears before them. He is tall, eyes unable to be seen due to the shadowing from his top hat, wearing mostly an elegant white outfit. The girl sees he has pointed ears, a sure indication he is a demon. However, she can sense his overwhelming yet in-control power; he is unlike her brother.

He speaks, "Dear me, what do we have here?"

"Wh-who are you?! The hell do you want?" the girl responds, trying to reach for something use as a weapon, but finds nothing.

"Relax my dear, I'm not here to hurt you. Though it looks like you've already been injured. Tell me, just what have you two been through?"

"Screw you pal! My brother had no choice but to kill our parents because they were possessed!"

"…I see. Did they have blue flames surrounding them by any chance?"

"Only my brother knows. I was in my room studying."

"Well it looks like to me you have nowhere to go now."

"What, are you hear to finish us off or something?"

"Quite to contrary. Although your brother appears to be a demon, I could pull a few strings and have you two enrolled into my academy."

"…You…run an academy?"

"Yes. Ever hear of exorcists?"

"…Exorcists?"

Five years later, present time. The two siblings, Kenta and Seiya Takenaka, have been schooled privately at the True Cross Academy. The brother, Kenta, had enormous power he could not control, and for his own safety was sealed away in secret. His sister, Seiya, decided to stay with him after all they have been through. The man they met before, Mephisto Pheles, was against her idea at first, but allowed it; turns out if she wasn't nearby his power would surge. It took a long time, but at last, they could finally be schooled normally. Kenta's power has been sealed inside a special sword his sister created along with other Exorcists, calling it the Strong Starlight Blade. He can draw it freely and use it as he so pleases. However, a special inscription was engraved into the blade; should it ever come in contact with his own blood, his power would be unleashed.

The demon that had possessed their parents years ago was no incident. As it turns out, Seiya had kept it secret that they are indeed half-siblings, born from the same mother. While she came from two human parents, her brother came from the seed of a demon after her parents split. She never wanted Kenta to know that he was actually a demon, and that he was her Temptaint. Although for some odd reason, she shares the same pyrokinesis ability as Kenta, however, their flames are different in not just color, but power. While his is overwhelming, hers is tame.

That horrible night for the siblings was sparked from their demon father. He grew tired of raising his son as a human, and possessed his wife, turning her against both of her children. Once his powers awoke, Kenta acted purely on instinct, and had no choice but to kill both parents so he and his sister would be safe. He had been raised with a good heart, which overrode his demonic abilities and nature. Seiya is still amazed that his demonic blood turned out to be weaker to his pure heart. Despite all they've been through, they couldn't be a tighter duo.

Seiya, the older sibling is also the shortest one standing at 5'00" and is 20 years old. Her hair is short and black, having it pushed back giving it a smooth yet spiky look; she decided to try and make herself look bigger in some way. Her eyes are a beautiful deep jade green, matching her feather clip given to her from her brother. She wears a red sleeveless top with a white vest and a yellow fur cape, trying to make herself appear tough yet elegant; this of course prompts her brother to tease her about wanting to look like the Headmaster, to which she responds by yanking both his ears. She also wears black pantaloons with a white skirt with golden laces and black boots. Seiya also sports yellow gloves concealing a scar from which her brother accidentally gave her resulting in her new abilities.

Kenta, the younger sibling is the taller one standing at 5'06" and is 15 years old. His hair is short and blonde which is slicked back making him look like a typical "gentleman"; his bright yellow eyes are brought out more by his hair alone. He wears a grey dress shirt followed by a same colored vest and a black long jacket, trying to match the Exorcists around the campus save for the coattails. But trying to stay true to the school uniform, he wears black pants and shoes along with a red loose tie. The Strong Starlight Blade rests on his back in a special case so no one around him is alerted. He is usually optimistic now that he can join in with everyone else, but his sister has become withdrawn and nervous.

Making their way over to the entrance hall which is crowded with new students. Kenta can't wait to meet everyone and flies off into the crowd, leaving his cautious sister behind. For her though, she wouldn't have to go to any actual classes; she graduated already. Her goal now is to locate the Cram School, as she can now focus on becoming an Exorcist. Problem is, it's held after regular school hours, which means she'd be waiting for her brother. Her only option would be to explore the campus and their new dorm. Leaving her excited brother to mingle, she slips away to explore.

It takes her some time to walk around the campus and become familiarized with everything. Seiya takes out her cell phone to check the time quickly seeing she has only a half hour before the cram school begins. Kenta should be getting released soon; she decides to check out the dorm they'll be staying in. But before she could head for the dorms, she encounters a small white Scottish-terrier looking dog.

"…Coulda sworn Mr. Faust didn't allow animals on campus. Unless it's his…but still." She squats down, "Hey there puppy, come here!"

The dog responds as if it understood her and walks over. She checks it over finding no collar or tag. But then she notices something. The pink ribbon tied around its neck, a silver trinket attached that resembles the symbol for an Exorcist.

She nearly freaks as she reels back saying in shock, "MR. FAUST, IS THAT YOU?!"

The dog replies, "Keh, well you're a sharp one, Seiya. Just as I'd expect from you."

A pink cloud surrounds the dog, and as it disappears reveals Mephisto with a proud look on his face. Seiya can't believe that he can transform; she has never seen him do it before.

"Sorry Seiya but the principal can't just randomly walk around campus. I figured I'd come out and see how you were doing so far." he explains.

Seiya stands up replying, "Doesn't make sense, but whatever. As far as my first day, I've done nothing but carefully explore the place. The only area I haven't seen yet is the dorm."

"That reminds me, I forgot to give you something earlier." he pulls out a key. "This is a special key that works on any door and will bring you straight to cram school."

Mephisto hands over the key before counting down from three in German and turning back into a dog. Before Seiya could say anything, he cuts her short saying, "Do me a favor and wait here for me. Not only do I have to find Kenta, but there's one other student I picked up earlier today that'll be joining your Exorcist class. I'll be back~."

"Hey wait…argh!"

Seiya turns around finding a couple lampposts mounted on a cement wall. Agitated at Mephisto, she walks over and sits down, crossing her arms. Looking at her phone, it'd be another several minutes before the classes begin. With nothing more to do, she reaches into her bag, pulls out a manga, and turns to a page she left off on.

"Right, now to see if L can prove Light is Kira…poor guy has no idea how right his suspicions are."

In one of the many hallways of the academy, Kenta has made a couple of new friends. They decide to head for their dorm rooms and settle in. He pulls out his cell phone about to call his sister, when Mephisto, still in his dog form, appears before him. He makes no connections and tries to make friends with the dog, but the tricky demon keeps his distance, getting Kenta to follow him. Each attempt he continues to make trying to pick up the dog results in him crashing onto the ground as Mephisto jumps out of the way.

Down the hall is another student dressed in a black school uniform, and navy blue hair and pointy ears carrying a case-covered sword on his back. He appears to be the same age as Kenta, who ends up bumping into him. Mephisto tries to keep from laughing; getting the both of them this easily couldn't have gone any more perfectly.

The boy retaliates, "Hey man, watch where you're going!"

"Whoa, sorry dude. I've been chasing that dog for the past few minutes." Kenta replies before spotting the boy's ears. "Hey…you're a demon too? Cool, so am I! The name's Kenta Takenaka!"

"Uh, Rin Okumura." the boy responds shaking hands. "So, you're a demon as well then, huh?"

The dog quickly barks, getting the two of them to stop talking about being demons. Mephisto starts to think Kenta may have told other people the fact he's a demon and nearly has a heart attack at the thought. The boys redirect their attention toward the dog much to his relief and gets them to follow him.

Meanwhile at the cement wall, Seiya continues to wait, having forgotten about the time as she reads on in terror.

"Wait, no Light, why would he kill L?! And through Rem even! You evil bastard!" Seiya ends up shouting.

She hears a voice say, "Ha, glad I'm not the only one who really gets into the stories."

Seiya looks up seeing both Kenta and Rin, then looks down noticing Mephisto has returned. Keeping from revealing just who the dog is, she saves the page, puts the manga away and stands up.

"Well Kenta look at you. You've made a friend! {And he's a demon too…his aura is awful strong…it almost matches Mr. Faust's aura…No, I can't start speculating now.} I'm Kenta's older sister, Seiya." she speaks, taking careful notice of Rin.

Rin extends his hand for another shake replying, "He speaks a lot about you. I'm Rin Okumura."

"Hey Sis," Kenta starts, "do you have any idea where this dog came from? I found him in the halls a little bit ago."

"Well…you'll find out soon enough." Seiya replies keeping the mystery wearing a smirk on her face.

Mephisto leaps onto the cement wall, onto one of the lampposts, and sits down before quickly transforming back into himself, shocking both the boys. Their faces made Seiya laugh until Kenta pulls her into a headlock giving her a noogie and demands why she didn't just tell them.

The tricky headmaster tells the boys exactly what he told Seiya, that the director can't be seen randomly walking around the grounds. He then throws each of them the same key he gave Seiya, explaining that the key will work on any door at any time to bring them straight to cram school. The calm, confident look he normally wears becomes one of uncertainty. He wants to say something to Rin, but isn't sure if he should with the Takenaka siblings around. Then, he gets a thought.

"Before I show you kids your way to class, there is something I'd like to go over with you." he speaks jumping down from the lamppost.

Seiya asks using an expectant type of tone, "Okay, what did my brother do now?"

Mephisto replies, "Oh don't worry, you're brother isn't in any trouble. It's actually more concerning the three of you."

"The three of us?" Rin asks.

Not really wanting to explain, Mephisto has no choice and goes on, "Yes. The three of you need to understand something about each other that you three only must keep to yourselves. No one else is to know."

Seiya thinks, "{I knew it! Something's up with Rin.}"

"Seiya, Kenta…Rin is really the son of Satan." Mephisto explains.

"Whoa, no way!" Kenta says in disbelief.

"Aha, I knew something was going on! I could sense it right away!" Seiya boasts.

Rin explains, "But see here's the thing: I only had one father, and his name was Shiro Fujimoto. Satan is not my father, not in any shape or form. I plan on kicking his ass by becoming an Exorcist!"

"Well put, my boy." Mephisto says.

Seiya is left a bit dumbfounded; the son of Satan working against him? Sounds too good to be true. However, Kenta has full respect for Rin, sensing some kind of pain behind his words. The blonde demon places a hand on Rin's shoulder.

"Thanks man." Rin says doing the same. Quickly after he asks, "So what's up with you guys then?"

"They're quite a case." Mephisto says. "You see Rin, about five years ago, their demonic father's true nature kicked in and turned their mother against them. While Seiya was unaware, Kenta could sense the trouble and sadly killed both their parents trying to protect her. However during the fight, he accidentally left a single scar on both of her hands. Like you Rin, Kenta is a demon's spawn, but nowhere near your power. Seiya in a way absorbed her brother's abilities, and the both of them have their own pyro-based abilities."

Seiya tries to hide her hands by folding her arms and Kenta only slightly hangs his head. The headmaster goes on to say that his powers were eventually sealed with a sword that Seiya created with a few other Exorcists, so now he is in control, unless it comes in contact with his blood. Rin isn't sure what to make of this information, but is able to understand their pain; he still feels responsible for what happened to Fujimoto.

"I don't care if you guys are demons or not." Rin says breaking the silence and gaining the siblings' attention. "As long as you guys want to be Exorcists too, then I'll be right there beside you."

Seiya's eyes widen astonished. Kenta practically glomps Rin happy to know that not only does he have a new friend, but also an ally. His sister is not sure what to make of Rin's words, and wonders if she can actually trust him. Memories of coming to her brother's aid flash in her mind, people yelling at him or calling him a "demon's child" under their breaths…she's always had to defend him or stop him from hurting anyone in a fight. She couldn't trust anyone but her brother and mother growing up, so she thinks how she could bring herself to trust the spawn of Satan. However, Seiya quickly thinks back to the moment Mephisto appeared. That night, he saved the siblings from a terrible outcome and bringing them to True Cross Academy, earning her trust.

As Kenta continues to show Rin his affection, much to Rin's displeasure, Seiya thinks to herself, "Can…can I really trust him?"

Mephisto places his hand on her shoulder from behind, causing her to turn and look up at him. He assures, "Relax Seiya. You can trust Rin. I highly doubt he'd hurt you or your brother like others have in the past."

Kenta then remembers, "Oh yeah, Mephisto, where's our Exorcist class?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot! Just follow me." Mephisto replies. "However boys, just one thing. You two can say whatever you want about your ears, fangs, and tails, but those flames are a no-no. The both of you be careful and control your tempers."

"Got it." they reply.

He walks over to the cement wall, and jumps over it causing the trio to rush after him. However, there is ground below, and he instructs for one of them to open the metal double doors in the side of the wall. All three jump down one by one, and Kenta is the one to use his key. He opens the doors and inside is another large hallway, almost looking like stained glass. The key has indeed successfully warped them to the cram school.

Mephisto takes the lead bringing them to their class. Once it sinks in that the three of them will be classmates, Kenta nearly celebrates the thought, leaving Seiya to become cautious. Once at the door, the headmaster states that he'd be sitting in with them today, at least sitting in with Rin, possibly to make sure things go okay. Once again, he transforms into a dog and surprises the boys with the fact he can talk. He questions the trio if they really want to be Exorcists, and to be sure of themselves before they open the door.

Seiya becomes the bold one and is first to enter the classroom. Several other students have already arrived, noticing one in a cloak, one that looks like a typical punk sitting with a short bald boy and another with pink hair. She spots a girl who looks like her attitude is already activated and shows zero intimidation. Seiya introduces herself as she walks in and seats herself in the middle. Kenta happily follows suit, introducing himself before sitting next to his sister with a big grin on his face. Rin forgets his nervousness and tries to boldly walk in and introduce himself. Mephisto follows Rin and sits next to him in the front.

Kenta giggles and says excitedly, "This is so awesome! The three of us get to be in the same class! I wonder what our instructor will be like?"

"{I'm guessing something close to the uptight, strict assholes we dealt with.} As long as they're nice, I don't care." Seiya says.

Rin questions who all the other people are, to which Mephisto quietly replies that they're here to become Exorcists just like he is. Kenta, full of boundless energy scans the class over from his seat, wondering who he could befriend next. Seiya calmly rests her head on her arms a bit tired from walking around the large campus. Just then the door opens, and everyone's attention is now focused on the front. Rin and Kenta become stunned to see who the instructor is. Another boy, dressed in a long black coat, looks to be the same age Rin. His hair is short and brown, has three moles on his face, and wears glasses.

He speaks with a gentle, friendly tone, "Good afternoon everyone. My name is Yukio Okumura, and I'm your instructor for the Anti-Demon Pharmacology class."

Rin stands in total disbelief trying to ask Yukio what is going on. Although it appears that Yukio ignores his questioning, he goes on to give a brief history, stating that he started his training when he was seven, and has now become an instructor. Once more Rin starts demanding an explanation, but his twin continues to ignore him, this time a bit more coldly. Seiya starts to sense trouble, Rin's aura filling with anger. When Rin finally marches up to Yukio and angrily demands they talk now, Yukio asks the class to wait in the hallway. The Takenaka Siblings are last to leave.

Out in the hallway, Seiya begins to shiver. Regardless, she can sense Rin's angered aura. But then another one intrudes confusing her. Looking at the door, she secretly activates an ability she developed over time, changing her vision. The world around her becomes black and white, with any object being outlined in white; this is her Aura Sight Ability. Humans are highlighted in a greenish aura, while demons are highlighted in red. However, since Rin's flames are blue, that is the color of his aura. From what she can see it viciously dances around. But she can see Yukio's aura as well, but it isn't fully green. It is mixed with both red and green, causing her mind to go numb in confusion.

"{…Y-Yukio's…both a human AND a demon? Ugh, it just barely matches up with Rin's aura. Sure they're twins, anyone can see that…and I've heard of him from Mr. Faust…but he never mentioned he was both a human and demon hybrid. Just what's going on?!}" Seiya theorizes.

She watches the auras move around as Goblins suddenly intrude on their confrontation. She sees something was knocked over, a vial; it was the one Yukio only briefly brought up indicating its role as an attractant for demons. Rin and Yukio continue their argument as the young twin fends off most of the goblins. Eventually, Rin draws his sword and charges at his brother, until Seiya sees he was aiming for the Goblin right behind him. Everything stops. Their auras begin to calm down…whatever confrontation occurred seems to have ended.

Seiya deactivates her ability, shaking her head in the process. Her regular vision returns. Kenta asks his sister what she saw, knowing for a fact she wasn't just staring at the door. She has no clue how to explain it, but she plans on confronting Mephisto later about it.

Later that day, the Takenaka siblings discover their dorm. To their surprise, Yukio approaches the building as well.

"Oh hey Mr. Okumura." Seiya greets.

Yukio smiles saying with a slight chuckle, "You can call me by name outside of class, Seiya. It's alright."

Kenta's excitement builds as he says in a hyper fashion, "Whoa too cool! We're sharing the same dorm as the Class Rep who's also our teacher! Too cool!"

"Wow you are just full of energy, aren't you Kenta?" Yukio asks a bit thrown off.

Seiya jokes petting her brother on the head, "It's a disease." She then asks, "Anyway, would you know why we're in this dorm?"

"I sure do." Yukio replies. "Although it was more planned that it would be just me and my brother, mostly because he is dangerous, Mr. Faust told me about you two before exorcist class. Although you two aren't as much of a threat, he feels taking a precaution and placing you two in here would be beneficial. This way, should Kenta become upset and his demonic energy ends up leaking, no one but us would sense it. Mr. Faust doesn't want anyone to fear either of you."

"You telling me he actually _thought ahead_?" Seiya says in a more sarcastic tone, "Quick, someone call the hospital, Mr. Faust found his brain!"

Kenta just gives her a look saying, "Don't you think you're being a bit harsh, sis? What if he's nearby and hears you?"

"Oh he's already fully aware of my attitude, bro." she responds, "He knows I don't screw around."

Yukio then jokes, "Hmm, a hyper-active live wire and a sarcastic fireball; this ought to be very interesting."


	2. What Are Your Goals?

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 2:  
What Are Your Goals?**

"This is so cool!" Kenta excitedly says bouncing on his bed like a little kid. "We're only three doors down from Yukio and Rin's room!"

"{Yeah, more of Mr. Faust's sick humor.} Would you calm down, Kenta?! I can't concentrate on our homework Yukio gave us!" Seiya yells getting irritated.

"I can't! I'm too hyper! I don't think I'll be able to sleep!"

"Oh for the love of! That's it!"

Grabbing her things, Seiya storms out of the dorm room and shuts the door. A loud thud can be heard from inside followed by giggle snorts. The girl sighs angrily before regaining her composure. She walks up to the Okumura Twins' room and knocks on the door. Rin is the one to answer asking what's up. Seiya asks if there's any way she could focus on her homework with them, to which Yukio happily replies he can help.

A half hour into it, Seiya is nearly finished when she asks, "Hey Yukio-kun, do you think I could spend the night in here with you two? Kenta's way too hyper to focus on anything including sleep."

The boys laugh with Yukio answering, "Mr. Faust thought ahead on that one too. Here, take this key."

Yukio hands over a dorm room key with a number on it. Seiya saw this number just across from her current dorm room, and starts to wonder just what Mephisto has prepared for her. Five years of his unpredictable nature always has her on guard. After she finishes her homework, she thanks Yukio and leaves the room. However, Rin's curiosity peaks and he wants to see if her room ends up looking any different from theirs, expecting in his mind luxurious furniture. At the door, Seiya uses the key and opens it. She flips a light on and is a bit taken aback.

"It…it almost looks like my old room…" Seiya says in disbelief, tears nearly building in her eyes.

Although it is another ordinary dorm room, the walls have been painted a pastel green, with a blue paisley pattern surrounding the windows and door. The bed has been fixed with two poles and a partial frame holding up a light lavender shroud; the curtains are pulled to both sides. The desk is nothing to gawk at, but on it is an envelope with Seiya's name on it. On the right corner of the desk is a simple light, and on the opposite side a simple vase with a white iris sticking out followed by a couple of baby's breath flowers to each side.

Rin asks, "Wait, your old room looked like this?"

"I know it's a bit girly," Seiya replies, "but aside from my old room being slightly bigger, this is almost a perfect replica. Heh, all it's missing is our pet cat, Flopsy."

"…Flopsy?"

"He always had this weird stride like he was drunk, so he would flop around sometimes. He was a good boy though; you could yank any part of him, and so long as you didn't hurt him he just did not care."

They walk into the room and Seiya takes notice of the envelope. Rin joins her and watches as she takes out a pink sheet of paper.

It reads:

_Seiya,_

_I'm sure by now your brother is filled with boundless and seemingly endless hyper energy. In an effort to relieve you of this trait, I have done my best to recreate your old room. It was more Kenta's idea, and he even had an old photo of it. The iris on your desk was more my idea._

_I hope you find everything to be in order. Please, enjoy your time here._

_If you need anything, you know where to find me._

_-Mephisto_

"Damn, he really wants you to be comfortable, doesn't he?" Rin asks.

"Which one?" Seiya responds.

"The both of them. I would've never expected this from either…especially Mephisto; there's just something about him I don't like…"

"…Either way, I'll have to think of way to thank him."

The next morning, Seiya is up early deciding on what to do on her day off. She thinks about wanting to do more research on exorcism and all the Meister types. By the time she gets to the Okumura brothers' room, they are gone. She decides to check on her brother, finding he left his door unlocked, and finds him sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, his sheets trailing behind him.

"{Baka.}"

With nothing else to do, Seiya decides to head over to Mephisto's office; she needs to thank him for recreating her old room.

In his office, Mephisto is more focused on one of his manga than dealing with any paperwork. A knock is heard on his door several minutes later. He announces for whoever it is to enter. As he spins around in his chair he finds it's Seiya with a timid look on her face.

Mephisto smiles saying, "Ah if it isn't young Seiya. So, has your brother driven you insane last night?"

Seiya's timidness quickly vanishes as she replies, "Ugh, he was so hyper he must've bounced around in his sleep; I found him on the floor."

"I had a feeling."

"…I uh…really wanted to thank you for recreating my room. Last night had to have been the first time in five years I slept throughout the night."

"You are very welcome, my dear. Although you should thank your brother as well; it was his idea after all."

"After I'm done slapping him awake first. That kid could sleep through a nuclear bomb."

"Seiya, I am curious about something." Mephisto says standing up and walks over to her. "I know you've waited the last five years to become an exorcist when your brother was able to be controlled, but what is your goal as an Exorcist?"

She becomes silent. Her usual attitude is replaced with melancholy. She answers, "I've thought about it myself. I have nothing to really avenge since both our parents are gone. But I also don't like the fact that Satan could strike one hell of an attack at any given moment. However, one thought came across my head…it started shouting loudly… 'I want to be normal'…"

"…You mean become human again?"

"Mr. Faust—"

"Seiya, you can call me Mephisto. It isn't like I'm going to yell at you."

"Call it respect. Anyway, you have no idea what it's like living with abilities you know could easily overwhelm you at any given point. I've always been afraid of these powers. I honestly can't stand having them."

"But Seiya, do you miss being able to do nothing and feel helpless like you did that night?"

"…"

Rewind five years prior. Seiya is in her room studying for an upcoming exam in school. Her brother is listening to loud music in his room, performing on an air guitar along with the music. Unbeknownst to them, their demon father gets into an argument with their human mother. They are arguing about the fact that she never knew he was a demon, and that his powers passed on into Kenta. Fearing for her children's safety, she rushes for the kitchen and grabs a knife. Her husband has followed after her and grabs both her wrists. He then headbutts her, causing her to fall to the ground. Without hesitation, he places a hand on her head and overwhelms her human soul with his demonic power. Brainwashed, she stands as if nothing has happened.

Upstairs in his room, Kenta can feel an overwhelming presence, something he's never felt before. He quickly shuts off his radio and rushes downstairs. Standing in complete shock, he watches his parents barge into Seiya's room. Wasting no time, he runs into the kitchen, grabs a knife, and heads back to his sister's room. Both parents are trying to break through the closet door that Seiya has hid herself behind. Without fear or favor, Kenta attacks his parents. As they flip around he can see the intent to kill in their psychotic eyes. Paralyzed with fear, he isn't sure what to think or do. They both attack and his instinct to run overrides his fear as he rushes out the door. Seiya quickly bursts through her closet door holding onto the family cat, Flopsy.

Flopsy, not liking the threat, begins to his and angrily growl until he finally jumps out of Seiya's arms and dashes out the door. She quickly gives chase, and as soon as she leaves her room is hit with something…something bloody. It's the cat, with deep gashes in his side. More blood is suddenly splashed across the floor…it's her mother's blood. In a full panic being mixed with confusion, Seiya drops to the floor on her hands and knees. Just then, her step-father attacks but midway into a deadly slash, he stops. Kenta had stuck the knife his mother was holding into his back. The demonic father attacks him instead to which Kenta shoves the knife in his throat, then rips it back out. Flames begin to build around him as his father hits the ground.

Fast-forward to the present. Seiya is unsure how to respond to Mephisto's question. Sure, being human would give her a greater peace of mind and make her feel normal again…but remaining with powers she despises that are beneficial to her own survival at this point in time…she doesn't know what to do. She lifts up her left hand and removes the glove, looking at the scar that her brother gave her during their confrontation after he had saved her.

"{…Why did I block his attack?}" she starts to think.

Tears build quickly in her eyes blurring her vision. Unable to think clearly with overpowering emotions, she grabs her head and starts sobbing.

"{Oh dear, I think I just made her short circuit.}" Mephisto thinks feeling a bit guilty.

He then takes his hand, places it under Seiya's chin and gently lifts her head up so she's looking at him.

"Seiya, I can understand the pain you're going through right now. Being human again would make you feel normal, yet at the same time having these powers gives you a defense. It's a lot to think about." he says with a soft tone.

"Mephisto…" she tries to say.

He then steps away and walks to his desk saying, "Hmm, I think I have an idea. There's a place within the area, the Exorcist Supply Store, that has a garden filled with all kinds of plants. Really only higher ups like myself are allowed there, but, I think I can make an exception for you."

"A garden? What, you want me to work there or something?"

"Well you do need something to do around here, right? Plus, I think working there will give you some solace, and a clearer mind. Now where'd I put my keys?" he replies as he rummages through one of the drawers.

Seiya gains a look asking sternly, "You lost them already?"

Some time later, Mephisto uses one of the many warp keys that brings anyone to the shop. Problem was, the user of the key is warped to the highest point of a tower and must walk along a bridge to reach it. The second Seiya looks over to see how high they are causes her to become dizzy. The headmaster has no choice but to keep her close so she doesn't fall over.

Once they get across, he leads her up a flight of steps to a gate. Something appears to be off about it; the barrier appears to have disappeared. When he opens the door, it simply falls off. Seiya comments about it not being a good thing until she senses a familiar aura, and it's Rin's. That right away explained everything to Mephisto, much to his frustration. Seiya decides to try and put the gate door back up despite the fact it isn't hooking into place. Mephisto looks around finding no one is outside and concludes everyone is inside the shop.

Seiya joins him a moment later when she thinks the gate door is on good enough and becomes filled with awe. The sight of the garden with all its beautiful plants makes her forget instantly about her stress. That's when Yukio walks into the garden and spots the two.

Mephisto calls, "Ah Yukio, how's it going? I take it Rin really wanted to tag along?"

Yukio walks over responding, "Yeah, I couldn't stop him. He's also bad at listening to directions. What are you doing here?"

As Mephisto explains the situation, Seiya senses a demon nearby. Its aura is fairly weak to the point it almost can't be detected. Problem is, she can't see where it is, even with her Aura Sight Ability. Regardless she begins to have a look around the garden, amazed at how well taken care of the plants are.

"{Maybe this could actually work out. At least I could try.}" she starts to think.

Back at the dorm, Kenta has awoken in a panic; he is the only one there. He rushes out the building and runs around looking for everyone when he bumps into someone and falls on his butt. When he looks up, he finds a tall boy that's a little dark-skinned. His hair is so blonde it almost appears to be a white gold color. His eyes are a deep silver with black glasses resting in front of them. The boy wears a black double-button coat with navy-blue jeans, black shoes, a brown waist belt with the Exorcist emblem on it, and a white bowtie. He stands around 5'08". He looks down sternly at Kenta.

"Aw man, sorry dude." Kenta apologizes as she stands dusting himself off. "I was in a rush looking for my friends and wasn't watching where I was going. The name's Kenta Takenaka!"

"Heh, this place is pretty big, you may not find them. I'm Hayato Tachibana." the boy replies. "Hey, I'm curious. What year are you?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm a freshman this year! You?"

"Senior."

"HUH?!"

"Haha oh yeah, you definitely are a freshman."

"Grr why you! I just started this year! And for your information, I'm a Page too!"

"Hahahaha! This is priceless! I'm already an Exorcist. Well, Lower Second Class anyway."

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"'Fraid not. I started training when I was a kid. You could say I got a sooner start than that Yukio-guy."

"Dude, not only am I friends with Yukio, he's my instructor for that medicine class."

"…Well damn, he's made some headway. I'm just finishing up my regular classes this semester."

"HA! That means I topped you!"

"Are you a senior and an Exorcist?"

"…"

"Yeah, you can't bullshit a bullshitter."

Early evening starts to approach. Seiya has made herself comfortable next to a patch of flowers and fell asleep. Mephisto has kept a close eye on her the whole time to see how she'd react, and is pleased with the current result. At that moment, someone exits the small garden house. Not wanting to be seen, he quickly shape shifts into a dog and makes himself scarce. This is a good opportunity to see what will happen; he's been made aware of the situation here. A small girl, just a bit taller than Seiya wearing a pink kimono and has short blonde hair, crawls her way into the garden. As she begins to water some of the flowers, Rin soon enters the garden and confronts her. It doesn't even phase Seiya, even when he starts breaking a few pots to prove a point. Apparently, he doesn't want her to trap herself in a garden, bringing up her grandmother.

Yukio enters the garden having seen some of the moment going on. When the girl decides she finally wants the demon in the garden taken care of, the roots in her legs reveal the demon's true form, using her a shield. This spooks Seiya awake and she sees the weak demon she could barely sense earlier. She quickly joins the brothers asking what the deal is.

"This demon has been absorbing Shiemi's soul through her legs for a while now. And now that Shiemi wants to leave the garden, this thing refuses to let her go!" Rin quickly explains.

Yukio turns to Seiya and says, "Seiya, please stand back! I don't want you getting hurt!"

Seiya steps back but then thinks about what Mephisto said earlier about her powers. They're her defense, it keeps her from being helpless. As Rin tries to attack the demon after having drawn his sword, Seiya removes her right glove, and white and golden flames surround her hand as she forms a fist. The brothers and the demon can sense her power increasing.

With an unsure but bold expression, Seiya says, "Sorry, but I already backed down once." A memory of that night flashes in her mind. "I refuse…TO LET IT HAPPEN TWICE!"

As if casting a spell, Seiya sends a flurry of waves at the demon. The brothers panic until they see that Shiemi is left unharmed, but the demon sustains the damage. The demon can't seem to move at all and yells in pain, but won't let go of the girl. Yukio, seizing the opportunity, fires a bullet filled with plant vitamins at Shiemi, causing the demon to let go of her out of shock, Yukio acting quickly catching her. Rin then seizes the moment of weakness and slices the demon in two, killing it. He sheaths his sword and rushes over to Shiemi thinking his brother may have killed her just now, but finds she's okay.

Yukio has her try to stand, to which Shiemi is happy to discover she can. Her mother enters the garden, and Shiemi appears nervous. Rin smacks her in the back of the head telling her to hurry up and apologize. Surprisingly, her mother makes the first moves, tearfully embracing her.

Seiya stands there watching the happy moment. "{…Reminds me of the fights I got into with my birth parents. Even though my father was sorry for cheating on my mother, I still chose to forgive him. I still remember how crushed I was to learn he had died in that accident…I really miss having that.}"

Yukio then says, "We should probably head back now. It's getting late."

"Wait, where'd Mr. Faust go?" Seiya asks realizing he's missing.

She then hears a whimper from behind and says with a look, "Nevermind. Found him."

Back at the dorm, the boys head inside. Mephisto transforms back into himself with Seiya about to head inside before he stops her. She turns around and he hands her a warp key to the shop.

"That was an impressive display back there, young Seiya. Your flames appear to only harm demons. Consider that a blessing." he says with a hand on her shoulder.

She looks at her hand and responds, "I still don't know about it though. I'm grateful to learn for the first time that my flames won't hurt humans…"

"Wait, you've never used them before? Even after I got you two into my academy?"

"I told you, I'm afraid of my powers. Tonight was the first time I've ever used them since that night, when I had to fend off my brother…"

"…Hmph, well then Seiya, it seems you've got a lot to learn."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. Your brother is a demon. So your flames will harm him. Shiemi is a human, so she was unaffected. These powers of yours, Seiya, could actually become the greatest weapon against Satan."

Her eyes widen, "A weapon against Satan?"

"Yes. Well, I best be going."

"W-wait!"

But she's too late; Mephisto has teleported off somewhere. Aggravated at this, Seiya simply whips herself around and enters the dorm. Upstairs heading to her room, Seiya hears laughing coming from Kenta's room. Stunned by this, she knocks on his door and is told to come in. She enters the room finding Kenta playing Chinese Checkers with his new friend, Hayato.

"Hey there sis! Come meet Hayato, this guy's made of awesome!" Kenta says.

Seiya isn't sure what to make of the scene. "Uh…hi. I'm Kenta's older sister, Seiya."

"Ah so you're Seiya. Your brother's done nothing but talk all about you; I can barely get him to change the subject." Hayato says.

Seiya smiles saying, "Kenta, you should really boast about something other than me."

"Yeah, but I just met Rin and Yukio, so you're all I have left." Kenta replies with a grin.

"What about Mr. Faust?" she asks.

"Feh, that guy's a total creep." Kenta replies with a disgusted look.


	3. Restoring the Flame

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 3:  
Restoring the Flame**

"Come on Takenaka Siblings, what do you think you're in here for, a morning jog? Adjust to the Leaper's movements!" Kaoro Tsubaki yells.

The Takenaka siblings and the rest of their classmates are in the middle of a Practical Training class running from a Leaper, a giant version of a frog with a devil tail and eyes that can read emotions and thoughts of those who foolishly look into them. Kenta has adjusted to the Leaper's movements and decides to tease the demon, much to Seiya's frustration as she can't detect what the demon will do in retaliation.

"C'mon you stupid frog, is that all ya got? You haven't even tried biting my butt!" Kenta teases, lightly slapping his backside to further taunt it.

Seiya becomes angered and shouts, "IF THE LEAPER DOESN'T BITE YOUR SORRY ASS, I WILL! Now cut it out or—gyah!"

The older sibling suddenly trips over a small rise in the dirt and lands face first on the ground. The Leaper, sensing a weakness goes on the attack. Kenta spins around and goes on the offensive ready to defend his sister when the teacher pulls a lever that stops the demon in its tracks; a chain is attached to its metal collar.

Kenta rushes to his sister asking if she's okay. She says she's fine, but as soon as she applies pressure to her right foot, a sharp pain shoots up her leg; her ankle is sprained. Her brother tries to offer help, but she comically smacks him upside the head before heading for the ladder. Using only one foot she climbs up on her own, her brother following close behind. Rin is at the top, where the others wait their turn, and helps her up the rest of the way, followed by Kenta who has a guilty look on his face. Seiya walks over to the wall, leans back, and sits down.

"{Dammit all. So much for that I guess.}" Seiya thinks before she pulls out a manga. "{Screw this, what's Naruto gonna do about Zabuza?}"

Kenta watches her thinking, "{Aw damn, guess I got her mad.}" he sighs, "{How am I gonna fix this?}"

Rin walks up to him from behind and says, "Hey man, just give her some space. I'm sure she'll cool off after class is over."

"Yeah, I know. I just hate seeing her like that." Kenta says feeling down.

Kaoro Tsubaki walks over to the younger sibling and says, "Kenta, I'm not sure what was running through your mind, but taunting even the tiniest devil could spell instant death. I want you to think about that and keep it in mind for the next time we do this type of training."

Kenta replies, "Yes sir…"

After class, Seiya has found herself a spot under a tree in one of the courtyards reading her manga. She thinks back to the event Bon had started with Rin after Tsubaki left the class to deal with a supposed "booty call". She's amazed Rin tried turning down the challenge of touching the Leaper without looking at it and rushing back before it knew what was going on. And then Rin jumping in between the Leaper and Bon just to save him. It made her think about that night.

"{So, that punk Suguru wants to beat up Satan too. Feh, in a way, he's just like Kenta when you compare their recklessness. Hmm…this Blue Night everyone speaks abou—OH MY GOD NO, HAKU YOU IDIOT!}" her thoughts are interrupted as she reads about Haku taking a hit from Kakashi. "{Dammit all, why is it always the Bishonens?!}"

Barking suddenly snaps her out of her focus. Looking to her side, she finds Mephisto in his dog form. Trying to make it look like no big deal, she continues her reading while speaking to him.

"Afternoon Mephisto. I take it you must've heard about what happened in class today." she starts.

"Indeed I was told about what happened between Rin and Suguru. Though you sound off today. And where is Kenta?" Mephisto replies sitting next to her.

"Agh, it's my brother. During our training, he teases the Leaper while we're both running from it. Thanks to him I lost my focus and tripped. Now my ankle's killing me."

"Oh boy, he is trouble, isn't he?"

"Sometimes. So why are you-…holy shit, Zabuza actually cares about Haku."

"Ah Zabuza and Haku's death. Truly a very sad moment."

"Wha, you read it too?"

"I read all kinds of manga. Naruto is pretty exciting."

"I'll say. Anyway, what are you here for?"

"Oh yes, I'd like you to come with me. Let's go."

"Right now?"

"Yes. If you need to rest, just let me know."

Mephisto leads Seiya to a large forest in back of the fortress-sized academy. With no one else around, he transforms back into himself. Seiya can sense all kinds of auras ranging from weak to strong, but as of now appear to be inactive.

"Seiya, this forest here is normally used by beginners like yourself for mission training. It's teeming with all kinds of demons that range in various strengths that make it perfect for training." he explains.

"So wait, why'd you bring me here? I can already tell I'm not supposed to be here yet." Seiya questions a bit nervous.

"Don't worry about a thing, my dear." he responds, "I've already let your instructors know I want you coming here for your own private training."

"Private training?"

"Seiya, you do remember the other night with the garden demon, yes? You should learn to use your abilities while you have them."

"…" she looks at her hand. "I still don't know. I've had mixed feelings about my powers ever since that event."

"I can tell. However, if your goal is to be normal again, then now would be the time to learn about your potential before you make your decision. Come, it's time to ignite those flames of yours!"

"…"

Unaware to them, Kenta has followed at a safe distance so he couldn't be detected. He has overheard the conversation and thinks this private training might be something else. During their time here, he's seen how Mephisto looks at Seiya, as if he's interested in her in a different way. These thoughts cross his mind.

"{Mephisto…you may have saved us that night, but I can tell all you wanna do is get into my sister's pants. You're no better than all the other guys out there. Well you know what, I'm about to rain in on your so-called 'private training'.}"

Within the forest moments later, Mephisto and Seiya reach a nearby clearing. Seiya activates her Aura Sight Ability to become aware of the demons in the area. Luckily for her, all the demons she can see are far away so she can't disturb them. She deactivates her ability and looks up at the headmaster.

"Alright then Seiya, I'd like you to remove your gloves and aim at that target on that tree." Mephisto instructs pointing to the tree behind him.

Nervous, Seiya removes her gloves, and flames immediately surround her hands. She tries to think about the night she first used her powers and begins to focus, but as she's about to aim at the target, Mephisto hasn't moved.

"Uh, you're in the way…" Seiya says, unable to launch an attack.

Mephisto replies, "I want you to launch an attack on me."

"HUH?! Are you insane? What if I badly hurt you?"

He changes his tone and the look on his face as he says removing his hat, "What's the matter, are you afraid?"

Seiya looks at him in confusion and shock.

"Let's pretend I'm your step-father for a minute. I'm about to attack you. What are you going to do to defend yourself, Seiya?"

"{He's out of his mind! Doesn't he realize I can't attack him like this? My flames hurt demons! And he IS a demon!}"

Seiya's mind short-circuits; she can't bring herself to launch an attack at Mephisto. She doesn't want to hurt him, and has no idea how strong her attack could be. Unable to make up her mind, she doesn't see him close in quickly and shove her into a tree. Now she feels trapped. Not only will she not attack the one person she's learned to trust, but she's stopping herself from launching a counter attack altogether.

Mephisto sighs, "Come on, Seiya. If you won't attack me, how will you deal with Satan?"

Meanwhile, Kenta has lost track of his sister. He looks around frantically until he hears a scream, and to his horror, it's hers. The younger sibling rushes through the forest, sword in hand, and comes upon the clearing. He is shaken when he sees Mephisto throw Seiya into a tree and then fall into a bush.

"{The hell?! He's…he's ATTCKING her? Is he…no!} SEIYA!"

He jumps out of the trees drawing his sword without hesitation. Black and purple flames appear around his neck, on his wrists, and on his tail as he rushes at Mephisto ready to deliver a deadly blow when all of a sudden, white flames envelope him. The paralyzing pain shoots through his body and he drops to the ground.

"Aahh! KENTA!" Seiya shouts realizing who she hit.

However, Kenta pushes himself back up, shaking off his sister's flames as if nothing happened. He stands up and shoots a death glare at Mephisto. Seiya tries to block him off, trying to tell him that it isn't what he thinks it is, but her brother just pushes her out of the way.

Kenta points his sword at Mephisto's throat growling, "I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you wanna kill my sister, you'll have to go through me first!"

Mephisto isn't fazed and responds, "Such a reckless child you are, Kenta. I'm not trying to kill your sister at all. Besides, she's much too young and pretty to die."

That last statements adds more fuel onto the fire. Kenta shouts, "YOU BASTARD!" and slashes at the tricky demon, who simply vanishes.

Mephisto reappears behind him and swiftly swings his arm at the boy's throat. He goes flying into the ground and skids a few feet before trying to get back up.

"You lousy two-timing! Just what are you doing?!" Kenta demands.

"Look Kenta, you're in enough trouble having followed us here. I could expel you, but for your own sake, I'll blink on this one." Mephisto replies. "I was trying to train your sister to start learning to use her powers, but she utterly refuses to attack me directly. If she won't attack me, how can she expect to fight Satan?"

Kenta refuses to hear what the tricky demon is trying to explain, feeling as if he's insulting his sister. The boy goes on the attack, when he's suddenly enveloped by another batch of white and gold flames. Again it doesn't affect him at all, however, his sword reacts and stops him in his tracks. Kenta yells at his blade to get it to respond, not even registering that his sister attacked him.

Seiya then shouts, "KENTA GODDAMN IT, STOP!"

Hearing his sister, he finally looks over at her; Mephisto does the same. Seiya is beside herself, tears streaming down her face, gripping both her hands. Kenta goes to say something, but can't think of the words.

She yells looking at the both of them, her voice cracking, "Don't you two get it? Not only can I not learn how to use my powers this way, but now I see how weak they truly are. I just can't do it, I can't bring myself to do it!"

Kenta asks, "What about the night you attacked me, sis?"

Seiya responds, "I nearly killed you that night! That's why I never used my powers again!"

Both grow silent. Kenta looks away in sorrow, recalling the moment she attacked him. She claimed it was on accident. And she was right, but she had to defend herself. Mephisto at that point in time a few years back could tell Kenta was slowly slipping away, and was just barely able to revive him with his own abilities. Unable to take the stress, Seiya bolts from the forest.

Kenta speaks a moment later, breaking the silence, "…Guess we both have some apologizing to do."

"You know, I never expected her to withdraw like that. But aside from her fears, I can still sense a great determination in her voice." Mephisto says.

At the dorm, Seiya has locked herself in her room. She sits at her desk, head resting on her arms as she cries. The girl feels defeated, embarrassed, and highly upset. Mephisto's words about being able to defeat Satan ring in her mind. She knows he's right; how can she defeat Satan if she can't bring herself to attack him? At the same time, how can she when her attacks didn't even leave a scratch on her brother? Seiya begins to wish her powers would just go away.

A knock on her door spooks her. "Seiya? Are you okay? I can hear you in my room."

Seiya can tell it's Rin. She gets up and opens the door, trying to wipe away the tears from her face. Rin looks at her with great concern, asking once again what the issue is. When Seiya explains to him what happened, he surprisingly bonks her off the head.

"Ack! Hey, the hell was that for?!" she demands grabbing her head.

"That's for having no confidence in yourself, Seiya!" Rin bluntly replies.

She goes silent, looking up at him stunned. He goes on, "Look Seiya, I know how you feel. When I was told I was the son of Satan, I still refused to believe I was really a demon all this time. I didn't want to believe it. But then I realized something; this was my fate. I'm not exactly proud of these powers of mine either, but I plan on using them to protect everyone. You should feel the same way, wanting to use your powers to protect. Don't you remember what you said that night when we were trying to save Shiemi?"

Seiya remembers clearly as that moment replays in her mind, "…I already backed down once…I refuse to…let it happen twice…"

Rin quickly questions, "And what do you think you're doing right now?"

Her eyes widen. "{He…Rin's absolutely right. I'm…I'm being a coward and trying to run away from everything, like I've been doing since that night.}"

"Let me ask you something Seiya: do you want to be afraid of everything for the rest of your life just because you're scared of your own abilities?"

"…{He's right…}"

"How do you plan on continuing your training as an Exorcist if you don't learn to trust yourself?"

"…Rin…"

"Meet me in our cram class by eight o'clock. And come prepared."

Rin walks away back to his room. Seiya stands there, thinking hard about what he said. Needing to rest after the day's events, she closes her door and lies on her bed.

"{…Mephisto…Kenta…Rin…I want to become stronger, I do…but if my powers are this weak, then how can I continue training to be an Exorcist? I think I made a mistake…}"

Eight o'clock rolls around. Seiya nervously inserts - as she calls it - the "Cram Key" into her bedroom door and opens it. It has successfully warped her to the cram school. Closing the door, she heads down the hallway to her classroom and opens the door. To her surprise, not only have the tables and chairs been cleared, but both Okumura Brothers have shown up, waiting for her. Rin smiles and walks over to her.

He pets her on the head saying, "Glad you decided to show up. Now your real private training can begin."

"HUH?! Wait, why are the both of you here? I thought it was only gonna be the two of us, Rin!" Seiya freaks.

Yukio explains, "When I returned to the dorm room from a quick errand, Rin told me what was going on. Though when I tried calling Mr. Faust on it, he didn't answer, so I'm hoping he got my message. I know what he was trying to do; he was trying to provoke you into attacking…but it appears he didn't think that one through."

"He-hey, for once, he was being a true dumbass!" Rin boasts.

"Rin, don't start." Yukio warns before continuing, "Anyway Seiya, I thought of another way to train you with a different kind of provocation."

Seiya looks on confused asking, "And just what do you two have in mind?"

Some time later, Kenta appears at his sister's dorm room and finds it unlocked. He quickly sees this as bad. He opens the door and finds his sister is nowhere in sight. On the desk is a piece of paper. He takes a look at it. After a moment, he dashes out the door, crashing into a familiar face, the both of them landing on the floor.

"Augh! Well, you definitely have some serious speed on you, huh Kenta?" Mephisto asks sitting up.

Kenta has swirls for eyes saying, "I swear you appear at the worst times…"

A couple minutes later, Mephisto is following Kenta to the cram school as he explains along the way that the note Seiya left behind said that Rin plans on training her instead. The headmaster than asks why they're running there when the warp key could've easily been used. Kenta comically comes to a screeching halt and digs through his pockets, finding his Cram School Key. Luckily for him there is a building nearby and he uses the key. It warps the two to the cram school and they head over to the classroom. Upon opening the door, they are blinded by blue and white flames clashing with each other. The two look on watching as Seiya defends herself from Rin's flames, using her own to block them.

"Alright, very good Seiya!" Yukio announces. "Now then let's switch gears! It's your turn to attack Rin now that you have adjusted to his power."

Rin pulls up his sword in a defensive stance. Seiya throws a fireball at him as if throwing a baseball, and as expected it's blocked. His sword, Kurikara, is completely unaffected.

"C'mon Seiya, is that all ya got?" Rin taunts. "If you plan on fighting any demon, you'll need a lot more power than that!"

"But I—" she goes to say before Yukio interrupts, "Seiya, we both know you don't want to hurt anyone you care about. Rin has plenty of stamina; he can take a hit. The goal here is to suppress his power by attacking his sword; think of it as a weakpoint."

Rin adds in, "You ever play Zelda? Think of this as that, like you're fighting a boss!"

With that, Seiya begins to focus. She closes her eyes and concentrates. Quick memories of what happened five years ago and the night they saved Shiemi flies through her mind. She then opens her eyes with full determination. However, her eye color has changed. Her jade green eyes have changed to a raging red color as she prepares her next attack.

"Here I go!" Seiya says. "Starlight Burst!"

This next fireball flies at Rin at a high speed. It's so fast he doesn't even see it coming. The fireball misses the sword completely and hits Rin in the chest, bursting into what looks like a supernova. Rin goes flying into the back wall hard enough to create a dent before he falls to the ground, all his flames slowly disappearing till none remain. Both Yukio and Seiya rush over to him as Mephisto and Kenta slip their way in the room. Yukio flips Rin onto his back and feels for a pulse. To their relief, Rin moves his brother's hand away from his neck.

"Damn it Yukio, I'm alive; I ain't dead yet." Rin weakly says.

"That's great, but she hit you pretty hard!" Yukio says.

Rin smiles saying, "That was the goal, wasn't it?"

"But the goal was to hit your sword, no you!" Seiya says clearly upset.

"Will you calm down, Seiya?" Rin groans. "Don't you see what happened? You did it! You found the fire burning inside of you after all this time."

Seiya thinks back to the supernova-like blow. "…I…I did it?" She shakes off the thought and says, "Hold on, we need to help you out first!"

"Pfft, please, I can sleep this off. I've handled worse." Rin says sitting up.

They then hear slow clapping and a voice say, "Damn Seiya, remind me to never piss you off, huh?"

All three look over to see Mephisto clapping and Kenta standing next to him with a proud look on his face.

"The hell?! How long were you—" Seiya tries to ask before she gasps going into a panic, "Oh holy shit, wait, Mephisto's here! Aahh, don't expel us!"

Rin flicks her ear saying, "I don't think he'd be clapping if he were gonna expel us, now calm down."

Mephisto places his hands on his hips saying, "Oh no one's getting expelled, don't you worry. I'm more impressed that you two managed to do the impossible, and unlock Seiya's true potential!"

"Yeah, I never thought I'd see it happen." Kenta agrees. "But I don't recall a supernova. Or her eyes glowing red."

"My eyes are red?" Seiya asks. "Oh man, how do I make them green again?!"

Yukio suggests, "Try putting your gloves back on."

Seiya puts them back on and sure enough, her eyes change back. She then says, "I think we should retreat to the dorm now."

Back at the dorm, Rin is happily asleep in his bed while the others are in Seiya's room. They discuss any further training and agree that having her train in the forest three times a week will help her to learn to control her powers and use them effectively. Mephisto will arrange for a different person to train her, but would like to sit in on the training in case something happens. At that moment, Kenta moves over to Seiya's closet and pulls out a small purple bunny plush with a ribbon tied around its neck.

He hands it to her saying, "I wanted to give you this and say I'm sorry for upsetting you today."

Seiya smiles gently at him responding, "It's alright, Kenta. I just needed to cool off earlier."

The two embrace each other in a hug, and after a few seconds they let go. At that moment, Mephisto presents her with something: a pink giraffe plush that stands on its own at 3 feet, also with a ribbon around its neck.

Mephisto then says, "I wanted to apologize myself. I shouldn't have pushed you like that earlier today."

Kenta gets in his face growling, "The hell are you tryin' to pull, you bastard?"


	4. The Food Wars

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 4:  
The Food Wars**

It is morning. Seiya wakes up from a restful slumber, going into a big stretch. Once she relaxes, she is greeted by two things – the purple bunny and the pink giraffe. She then hears Rin racing through the halls yelling about being late.

"{Guess Yukio couldn't wake him up. Hmm, I should see if Kenta's up.}"

The young girl gets out of bed and walks to her closet. She throws on her sky blue yukata with paw print patterns and heads out the door. Her brother has already left his room, judging by the way he didn't bother to close his door.

"{Oh right, I think he had a test today. Wow, he actually got up early.}"

Seiya soon finds herself in the dorm's kitchen, and notices a tray with breakfast on it. She smiles knowing who's behind it.

"Good morning to you too, Uko-kun."

Just then, a small Satyr-like demon jumps onto the counter and smiles up at her.

"_Good morning, Seiya-chan! You're up a bit late today._" Ukobach says.

"Yeah, ever since I started my private training to master my powers, I've been a lot more exhausted lately. I could use some coffee…" Seiya replies as she lightly headdesks the table.

"_I'll make you some! I came across some strong stuff the other day, and let me tell ya it'll wake you right up!_"

"Oh no, regular coffee's fine; anything stronger and I'll end up crashing about an hour from now. I still remember when Mephisto tried making coffee that one morning. Makes me wonder how in the hell he lived this long."

"_Hahaha, I hear you there, Seiya-chan._" the little Familiar responds as he makes his way to the coffee maker.

Seiya then thinks about something as she pulls her breakfast over. "Hey Uko-kun, I have a stupid question to ask you."

"_Hm? What's on your mind?_"

"…Well, uh…do you think…you could teach me to cook a certain dish?"

Later during the day, Rin and Yukio are in Mephisto's office with Rin asking about lowering the prices on the more expensive lunches. As he explains that he can't do that as everything purchased is first rate and the chefs hired are first rate, the Takenaka Siblings enter the room.

Kenta blurts out not even noticing the Okumura Twins, "Hey Mephisto, check it out! First test and I got an 80%!"

Seiya groans, "Ugh, for crying out loud, Kenta. He's busy with Rin and Yukio right now."

"Oh my, I'm popular today." Mephisto jokes before the timer for his instant ramen goes off.

Seiya pulls her brother over to the couches and sits him down so Rin and Yukio can carry on their business with the headmaster.

Rin growls, "Alright fine, if you won't lower the prices, then how about an allowance or something?"

Mephisto asks, a mouth full of food, "An allowance? Oh that reminds me, I need to give Seiya and Kenta theirs too. Sure, even the son of Satan needs something."

The headmaster grabs his wallet and pulls out a 2000yen bill. The Okumura Twins are astonished until Mephisto reveals they'd get 2000yen once a month. Kenta can't help but chuckle as Rin becomes enraged; after all, how are both the brothers going to survive on just that for a whole month?

Kenta whispers to his sister, "Boy are they gonna shit bricks when they see how much we get. It's probably the one time I'm glad this creep has an interest in you."

Seiya argues back blushing, "Will you cut it out! There's no way he's interested in me like that! For Christ sake, he's been around since the Middle Ages!"

"Oh Seiya and Kenta, come over here for your cut~!" Mephisto calls.

The siblings get up and walk over to his desk. To Rin and Yukio's utter alarm, Mephisto hands the duo nearly triple what he gave them, though the siblings only get 3000yen each.

Rin loses his mind yelling in complete disbelief, "Whoa what in the hell, you lousy jerk! Why are they getting 6000yen and we only get a lousy 2000 bill?!"

Seiya turns and says, "Rin, we've been living here for the last five years as well as being educated privately away from everyone else."

"We started out getting less than what you two get, but over time it just built up! {I'm not gonna say why though.} Although we still can't get the ritzy stuff in the rich kids' cafeteria, we do get discounts on occasion." Kenta proudly explains.

"DISCOUNTS?!" Rin launches, his tail sporting a blue flame without the sword being drawn. "The hell is the deal, Mephisto?!"

Mephisto simply shrugs as he spins his chair around continuing his lunch. Rin grabs his sword, still sheathed, and tries to attack but his brother restrains him. Yukio manages to drag his enraged brother out of the office. With the twins having left, Mephisto spins back around restarting Kenta's happy announcement.

"So Kenta, what were you saying?" he asks with another mouthful.

As Kenta shoves his test in the hungry demon's face (similar to how Maes Hughes shoves pictures of his daughter in everyone's face), Seiya begins to think to herself.

"{Man, even with Kenta here, it's kinda nerve-wracking. W-what if he says no?}" she thinks throwing herself into a small mental panic.

Kenta then manages to snap his sister out of her deep thoughts saying, "Yo, sis! Mephisto's tryin' to talk to ya!"

"Huh?" Seiya says snapping out of it, "Oh, uh, my bad, must've gotten lost in thought."

Mephisto asks, "Is there something you wanted too, young Seiya?"

Seiya becomes nervous to the point she blushes lightly starting, "Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you…"

"Oh? What is it?" Mephisto asks, his attention fully gained.

Seiya then becomes too nervous so Kenta blurts out, "Ugh, she wants to ask if you'd have dinner with her this week."

"Eek, KENTA!" Seiya yells.

"I'd be happy to." Mephisto quickly answers.

Both siblings ask, "What?"

Mephisto takes another bite of his ramen responding, "I'd be happy to have dinner with you, Seiya. Is Ukobach cooking for us?"

"Actually, it's me." she responds, rubbing the back of her head.

Kenta stares at her saying, "Since when can you cook?"

Mephisto chuckles amused saying, "In that case I look forward to it."

Later that night, Rin enters the dorm kitchen with several bags of groceries. He finds Kenta eating with another boy he doesn't recognize instead of his sister. At the same time, they play a game of Battleship with the both of them fairly even. When Rin looks around the kitchen, he finds Seiya is nowhere to be seen.

Rin passes by heading for the cooking area asking, "Hey Kenta, where's Seiya? Is she feeling okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Kenta responds, placing a red peg on the board. "She's in her room with Shiemi and Renzo trying to pick out an outfit for her dinner with Mephisto in the next couple nights; she wanted their advice over mine. Oh, by the way, this is my new buddy, Hayato!"

"Dinner with Mephisto? Why does that come off as really odd to me?" Rin questions placing the groceries on the table.

Hayato answers with a pervy look on his face, "Could it be possible she wants to get into his pants?"

This causes Kenta to become comically enraged and throw his game board at Hayato, knocking him over, pieces flying everywhere. He shouts getting defensive, "SHE WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!"

Hayato climbs back up laughing in his reply, "Relax Kenta, I was only kidding! Heck, maybe after five years, she must've developed feelings for him."

Rin gets in on the fun saying, "Yeah, I see the way you look at Shiemi in class, Kenta~."

"THE HELL ARE YOU IMPLYING?!" Kenta roars, his face turning red.

Hayato and Rin laugh while Kenta tries to calm down despite his frustration. As a means to make up for it, Rin decides to make a lunch for Kenta as he pulls out some of the groceries. Curious, Hayato walks over to the counter and asks if he could help, wanting to learn to cook himself. Behind his back, Kenta looks at his friend's game board and starts filing in the red pegs on both boards, cheating his way to victory.

The next morning, Seiya is up early, dressed in her yukata. Having made her way to the kitchen for her cooking lesson that Ukobach agreed to, she senses a heavy aura…and it's his. She walks into the cooking area, suddenly unable to sense the Familiar's aura.

Seiya asks in a gentle and concerned tone, "Uko-kun, what's got you in a bad mood? Is it so bad that the lesson's been canceled?"

No response. Something has indeed thrown Ukobach into such a bad mood, he won't even talk to Seiya. This greatly troubles her; she wanted to learn to cook a specific dish for her dinner with Mephisto. She sighs before reaching for her cell phone to contact the headmaster about the situation. Having just sent a text, she hears the sound of a barking dog. Turning around reveals Mephisto already in the kitchen holding his cell phone; that answers the barking noise, it was his text tone.

The tricky headmaster smirks saying, "Well I doubt I need to look at my phone at all to know what's going on here. Oh by the way Seiya, you look cute in that yukata."

Blushing madly and her mind short-circuiting, Seiya isn't sure how to respond except for asking, "How in the living hell did you get here so fast?"

"Teleportation." He responds before addressing the matter, "So, Ukobach's in a bad mood, huh?"

"Y-yeah, he won't even talk to me. I don't get why though."

"Hmm, someone must've intruded on his territory then."

Seiya's head tilts to the side in confusion before getting the idea to check the fridge. When she opens the doors, she finds more food has been put away as well as four empty lunch packs. Those lunch packs look like they have been recently disturbed. No doubt someone was in here last night, and the little Familiar didn't like it one bit.

At that moment, Ukobach climbs out of hiding. He speaks still upset, "_You can blame that Rin-guy for this._"

Seiya facepalms with a frustrated groan saying, "Oh Uko-kun that wasn't nice at all! Why'd you destroy the lunches?"

Mephisto shrugs replying, "It's just his way of getting back at those who intrude on his territory."

"You could've just poured hot sauce or something on it, not this." Seiya lightly scolds.

Frustrated enough, Ukobach returns to hiding. The girl can't help but become distraught over this. How can she learn to cook before tomorrow night if he's upset? Mephisto senses the gloomy atmosphere being generated by the two, and starts to get an idea.

A little bit later, Rin attacks his brother thinking he went and ate the lunches overnight. When the two bicker about who could've done it, they realize that they and the Takenaka Siblings aren't the only ones in the building. Rin knows that Seiya isn't the one cooking breakfast because she sleeps in a bit. It also can't be Kenta, since on certain days he's gone before they get up. All of a sudden, they hear chopping noises coming from the kitchen. They quietly make their way up to the counter once there, and find Mephisto as he turns around to greet them. Seiya then enters the kitchen and sits at the table.

She looks over and says, "Oh, hey you two. Finally woke up, huh?"

As the girl pulls out a small box from her bag, Rin recognizes the smell coming from it the second it's opened. He throws a fit, "You got that from the rich kids' cafeteria, didn't you?!"

Mephisto explains that when the brothers came into the kitchen, they had actually invaded on Ukobach's territory and it threw him into a foul mood causing him to boycott his job. Yukio immediately states that he's heard that name, indicating that Ukobach is a stove spirit that sneaks into the kitchen when humans are sleeping, and makes the food taste better. Having heard all this, the boys understand the situation, but soon question what Mephisto has prepared for them. Seiya is sure to keep her distance already knowing what's about to happen. The devious headmaster tells the twins that the meal prepared is his specialty, and urges them to eat.

Despite thinking twice about it as the red liquid bubbles, Rin tries downing it in one gulp but quickly succumbs to the intense spice. He faints with swirls for eyes with his brother catching him. Seiya tries her best not to laugh, burying her face in her hands. Mephisto states once more that unless Ukobach's mood improves, he'd be taking charge of the kitchen for the duration of their stay.

Later during the day, Rin finds Seiya reading another manga in the courtyard containing a big fountain. She's so enthralled by the manga that he unintentionally spooks her, causing her to fall back before he catches her. He apologizes as he pulls her back up and she puts away the manga.

"Hey Seiya, do you know anything on this Ukobach character?" Rin soon asks.

"Actually I do." she replies.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"You mean you couldn't sense him?"

"…No. How long have you known?"

"Since we settled into the dorm."

"What?!"

Rewind to the first night.

Seiya explores the dorm on her own late at night. Her stomach rumbles as she comes upon the kitchen. Almost as if on instinct, she finds herself at the fridge, pulling out a few things before rummaging through the cupboards for bread. Slowly snapping out of her stupor, she starts to sense a small aura, a demonic aura. Using her Aura Sight Ability, she sees a small demon hiding within an oven.

"Alright demon, I can see where you're hiding. You might as well come out."

The oven door opens, and out appears a small satyr-like demon with an angry look on his face. Seiya then forgets her defensiveness and comments on how cute he is. The little demon isn't sure what to make of her, and she concludes he isn't a huge threat, returning to making herself a sandwich. Jumping up onto the counter trying to tell the girl to leave, he notices how badly she's putting the sandwich together.

He speaks with a look, "_You don't exactly know how to make a simple sandwich, do you?_"

"I'm always trying to put together weird combos so I can go back to sleep; when I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm hungry, I always struggle for something to satisfy my stomach. I swear the thing has a mind of its own at night."

He grabs her hands stopping her saying, "_You know what, just, just stop. I can't watch you put together this abomination. I'll make you something._"

"You will?"

As he tosses the abomination Seiya tried to make, he takes the bred and a couple other ingredients, and explains he is Mephisto's familiar, going by the name Ukobach. A few minutes later, he hands her a simple sandwich containing a couple different fruits. Seiya is instantly impressed the second she bites into it, and pretty soon, her stomach is satisfied as well.

"Man, I can't believe I've struggled all these years just to find out something so simple was perfect…"

"_I could always teach you to cook if you want. So long as you like my food, I won't mind teaching you. But you have to follow everything I say._"

"Would you really do that, Uko-kun? I'm a total noob; I can barely make what comes out of a box."

"_Oh I'll train you._"

"You're awesome."

Return to the present moment.

Rin can't believe Seiya befriended Ukobach so easily. It gets him thinking about wanting up improve Ukobach's mood. Seiya tries to tell him what he could do, but his next class was about to start.

"{Damn. I was gonna tell him to cook Uko-kun something, but I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon.}" she pulls her manga back out, "{Alright X, just how do you plan on beating Chill Penguin?}"

That afternoon, thick clouds begin to build up. Seiya returns from the garden and dives onto her bed covering herself under a blanket and grabbing her bunny plushie. She can easily sense the incoming thunderstorm; the electricity produced not only throws off her Aura Sight Ability a bit, making her unable to read auras for the duration of the storm, but she is afraid of thunderstorms altogether. However, she can sense something about to happen in the kitchen. Unable to control her nerves, she jumps off her bed and rushes to the kitchen.

Once there, she witnesses Rin and Ukobach already in the middle of a cooking battle. Mephisto is in the kitchen as well, but sitting on top of a bookshelf stuffed with cooking items watching the battle unfold. A flash of lightning followed by the sound of thunder suddenly causes Seiya to duck for cover under one of the tables, catching the headmaster's attention; Ukobach and Rin are too focused on the battle to notice.

Mephisto bends down to look under the table only to find Seiya cowering like a mouse. He asks, "Are you alright, Seiya?"

"I friggin' hate thunderstorms!" she responds shaking like a leaf. "They've always scared the crap out of me!"

"It's nothing more than warm and cold air masses basically battling each other…"

"Don't care! I hate them!"

Mephisto sighs knowing he won't be able to calm her down. But then he gets an idea of how to make her feel safer. He takes off his hat and cape and puts them on the frightened Seiya. This snaps her out of her horror as she watches him place his hat on her head. He gives her a gentle smile as he offers his hand to her. Despite the next lightning flash, she takes his hand and is brought out of hiding.

Meanwhile outside, Yukio is rushing back to the dorm holding his suit case over his head to try and keep dry from the heavy rain. He comes across Kenta on the bridge, who is pointing his sword to the sky, taunting the storm to strike him.

Yukio calls, "Kenta, are you insane? Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

"Pah, you're a wuss, Yukio." Kenta replies. "So is my sister. I LOVE thunderstorms. I've taunted each one ever since I was a kid, and I haven't been struck once!"

"The hell is wrong with you?"

"Smite me, almighty smiter!"

Kenta is shocked (literally) to finally get his wish of being struck by lightning. His hair, now standing on ends giving him an afro and his whole body comically burnt, he coughs up smoke saying, "Well…it's about time…uuugghhh…"

"Just how are you even Seiya's _half_-brother?" Yukio questions.

At that moment, he hears an explosion, and sees black smoke billowing out of the dorm building. Not wanting to leave Kenta outside, he lifts him up throwing him over his shoulder and continues to the building.

Once inside, he drops Kenta on the ground in the lobby area and hurries upstairs and into the kitchen. He rushes into the cooking area finding Ukobach fainted on the table and Rin fainted on the ground, both their bellies incredibly stuffed. Before he could even question what was going on, he hears clapping, and finds both Mephisto and Seiya sitting on top of the cabinet shelves. Mephisto explains that the two of them had a cooking battle, adding in a new friendship being born. Rin and Ukobach compliment each other's cooking, before agreeing to make the perfect lunch.

Yukio stands there more than dumbfounded saying, "That's my brother…defying logic in all ways possible…"

Seiya tries to climb down from the cabinet shelves, but ends up falling onto her back, Mephisto's hat gently swaying side to side as it falls and lands on her chest. Judging from all the weird stuff happening, Yukio has a feeling he's in for a long night.

Everyone then hears Kenta yelling, "C'mon lightning! Is that the best you can do? I'm not even paralyzed yet!"

Seiya facepalms saying, "And this is exactly the reason why I hate thunderstorms…"


	5. Mysterious Egg

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 5:  
Mysterious Egg**

The next day, Shiemi stops by the dorm to drop off something for Yukio. Little did she know that she was being tailed by three girls – or rather, fangirls to be more precise. Turns out they saw the lunch that Rin had made for Yukio previously, and instead of accepting the fact that it was made by the older twin, they assume it was made by another girl. Upon spying on Shiemi as the girl enters the building, their suspicions only grow.

However, their spying is cut short when Seiya comes up from behind asking in a demanding tone, "Just what do you kids think you're doing?"

The one with the long dirty blonde hair responds upon seeing how short Seiya is, "Huh? Who are you calling a kid? You're shorter than all three of us."

Seiya glares replying, "I'll have you three know I'm 20. Now get the hell out of here before I alert the principal; I have him on speed dial."

"You wouldn't dare-!" the dark-haired one with glasses challenges.

"Oh you wanna try me, eh?" Seiya responds pulling out her cell phone.

About to push one of the numbers, the girls make a hasty retreat. Seiya watches as they hurry off growing a victorious smirk on her face. "{Although, I should probably tell Mephisto in case things get hairy…}"

That same night, the girls had returned to their snooping, sticking around to see if Shiemi ever came out of the dorm. Thing is, she did leave via using one of Yukio's warp keys. They must be unaware, otherwise they would've made that assumption. Instead the trio sneaks into the dorm.

During their sneaking around the dark building with a flashlight, they come upon the kitchen having smelled something. Flipping on the lights and heading straight for the fridge, they find four lunches have been made. Their jealousy fueling their rage, they destroy the lunches by throwing them in the trash. Unaware of the danger as they make their own lunches for Yukio, they don't detect Ukobach having appeared behind them, only now much bigger in size towering over them. Soon discovering the jeopardy, their screams fill the empty halls.

This alerts the Okumura Twins, as well as Kenta and Hayato, who were both helping each other with their homework. The boys rush to the kitchen where they find Ukobach, now looking more like a minotaur, about the cook the three girls; he had managed to find a big enough pot to stuff them in.

"Holy shit…" Rin says with a look on his face as if saying "are you serious?".

"Dude, what's wrong with this guy?" Kenta demands freaking out a bit.

"Screw that, what the hell is he?" Hayato asks, having no previous knowledge.

Rin then notices the spices Ukobach starts shaking onto the girls, saying they're the wrong ones to use. The other boys look at him with freaked out expressions. Rin tries to talk to Ukobach, reminding him of what he told him before during their cooking battle. He even goes so far as to bring up why he loves cooking, having started from when he was a kid. Even though it may not have turned out the greatest, Fujimoto would complement Rin regardless, which gave him the drive to do better the next time around. Eventually, Rin became a very talented cook as a kid. This gets Ukobach to come to his senses, and he shuts the stove off.

Then, from inside the pot, the girls, although a bit out of it, start asking why Yukio refused to eat the lunches they made for him. Almost instantly, all three boys gang up on Yukio and hit him on the head with paper fans.

"Dammit Yukio, I thought you were the smart one man! I mean c'mon, you're my instructor!" Kenta growls.

Hayato fixes his glasses saying, "Really Yukio, you're the prodigy here, and you pulled this bullshit? You're lucky I intend on keeping this a secret…"

"Uh-oh…" Yukio says realizing it's his fault.

Rin grabs one of the lunches handing it to Yukio saying, "You better get started on eating these! Here, it's nice and salty, just the way you like it!"

In complete dismay, Yukio whines, "Why is this happening to me?!"

Just outside the kitchen, however, Mephisto and Seiya have just witnessed the entire event from start to finish.

"My, my, Yukio's certainly gotten himself into quite the situation." Mephisto comments.

Seiya lets out a frustrated sigh saying, "Ugh, we couldn't even have a nice dinner without some kind of interruption…"

"What are you talking about? We were able to enjoy the whole meal before this happened."

"Yeah…but…I was kind of hoping for the whole night to go smoothly…"

"Oh young Seiya, there are plenty more nights waiting for us."

The following morning, Mephisto and Yukio are discussing about last night's event with the tricky demon pretending he never witnessed it in the first place. Still amazed by his sacrifice, Mephisto gives Yukio the next two days off to recover.

Meanwhile, in Shiemi's garden, she and Seiya are preparing a spot for a bed of flowers Seiya wants to try growing. That's when Shiemi spots something in a patch of herbs. She gets up and takes a look, catching Seiya's attention. Moving some of the herbs reveals a rather large rock-colored egg, the size of an ostrich egg. Shiemi carefully lifts it from the patch. Using her Aura Sight Ability, Seiya looks around for any trace of a demon aura, but finds nothing.

"What do you think could be in it?" Shiemi asks.

"I would guess some type of demon." Seiya answers. "But anyway, you found it first, so you should keep it."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly take care of this and the garden all at once! Not to mention, what if whatever hatches is dangerous?"

"…You have a point… Alright. I'll take it then. I'll get it checked out; someone here has to know."

A few moments later, Seiya is at the Okumura Brothers' room with the egg, but no one's answering. The girl sighs recalling last night; Yukio must be trying to rest. With no one else to turn to, she decides to head straight to Mephisto; after learning how long he's really been around, he must know something. At his office several minutes later, the headmaster is nowhere to be found.

"{Argh, dammit all.}"

That's when she notices a game console lying on the floor. There's an entertainment system against the wall she never noticed before. It has been quite some time since she's last played a video game, having to resort to reading manga the past few years. Seiya sits on the floor and picks up a pink controller, and turns on the tv and system. There's a game already left inside: Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2.

"Well, it's not like I have anything to do…save for my private training, but that's not till later on. Eh, I don't think he'll mind."

An hour feels like five minutes to the girl. Completely oblivious, as Seiya played the game, small white flames would appear every so often on her shoulders, indicating frustration and intense focus. Mephisto finally enters the room, though with an agitated look on his face. He quickly finds Seiya playing the game, but she hasn't heard him enter the room yet. The headmaster clears his throat while shutting the door, gaining Seiya's attention as she flinches and falls onto her back.

Seiya gets up now all nervous trying to say, "Ah, uh, Me-Mephisto! I didn't hear you come in, hehehehe…."

Mephisto chuckles saying, "I haven't seen you that focused in a long time. How long have you been here?"

Seiya pulls out her cell phone replying, "Holy crap, it's been an hour!"

"There must be a reason you waited so long for me to return then."

"Oh, that's right. Shiemi and I found this egg in the garden this morning. I tried going to Yukio, but he must be dead asleep. Would you know if it came from an aggressive demon?"

"Let's have a look."

Seiya brings the egg to him, and he starts inspecting it. "Hmm, this is an interesting one. I think it's a Water Demon Egg; some look like rocks as a means of camouflage. But why this one appeared in the garden is beyond me."

"Did it come from an aggressive demon?"

"Hard to tell. But ten to one, I think this came from a docile one, and those are rare. Hmm, if you're lucky, it could become your own Familiar, like Ukobach."

"Really?"

"If you take good care of it. Some demons can see from inside their eggs, others can sense good or evil."

"But then what do I do? I can't walk around with it tucked under my cape or in my shirt all day."

"I'd talk to your brother."

"Kenta?"

During the lunch period, Seiya locates her brother sitting on a bench waiting for his instant noodles to cook. She walks up to him and shows him the egg.

"Wow, this thing is really cool! Where'd you find it?" he asks checking it out.

"In the garden this morning. I already talked to Mr. Faust about it, but he told me to come to you. Would you know why?" Seiya explains sitting down.

"Yup!" he proudly answers. "I joined a robotics class, remember? I can fashion an incubator for it. Hmm, I know! I can create the kind of incubator from the Pokemon anime! And luckily for you, I happen to have robotics after lunch!"

"But, won't it take a while to create?"

"Nope! I trust you'll be at the dorm this afternoon, right?"

"Yeah. Rin won't be training me until seven tonight, and we don't have cram school for two days since Yukio's sick and the other instructors have something going on."

"Perfect! I'll have an incubator all set by then!"

They then hear a familiar voice, "Yo, Seiya, Kenta!"

The siblings look on to find Renzo by himself walking towards them. They greet him with friendly hellos, and he sees the egg. As Kenta's timer for his noodles goes off, he explains Seiya found it and is going to create an incubator. When Renzo is about to ask Seiya how her dinner with Mephisto went, another student interrupts them. Kenta recognizes the student. He stands tall wearing the school uniform, brown eyes, and unkempt-looking hair. This is Katsuo, a classmate of Kenta's.

Renzo, being friendly, tries to introduce himself mentioning that the three of them are trying to converse. Katsuo, wanting nothing of it, shoves Renzo out of the way and towers over the siblings. Seiya already has her cell phone in hand, ready to contact anyone and clutching her egg, while Kenta looks on with a defensive glare slurping his noodles. Some of the other students walking around the area take notice of the event unfolding.

Kenta breaks the silence, "Look Katsuo, we're doing nothing than talking and having lunch. If you're looking for a fight, go pick on someone your own size."

Seiya whispers, "Brother, what's with this guy?"

Her brother answers, "He's nothing more than a punk in my history class. He bullies some of the others around, but no one's done anything about it."

Katsuo suddenly flips Kenta's noodles out of his hands, spilling it all over the ground. He demands, "Look here Takenaka, I overheard that you and your sister get discounts so you can stuff your faces at that ritzy cafeteria. You are going to get me those discounts starting today!"

Seiya facepalm saying, "Is this guy serious?"

Hearing her words, Katsuo slaps the egg clear out of her grasp. Seiya goes after it, but the bully grabs her fur cape and pulls her into a bind, making sure she can't move. His strong grip causes her to drop her phone. Renzo quickly goes after the egg, catching it just in time before it hits the ground. Kenta is about to attack, but Katsuo uses Seiya as a shield.

To add more insult to injury, Katsuo also demands, "In addition to those discounts, I'd also like any money you've got stashed away in your room!"

"Bastard!" Kenta growls.

"KATSUO! You low life!" a voice calls.

Behind the bully stands Hayato and Rin shooting him nasty looks. Katsuo only smiles more evilly, and soon to their surprise, begins to sport horns, fangs, and a tail. Seiya can sense the new demonic aura and has no idea what to make of it. Coal Tars begin to flood the area, however, most of the students in the area don't see any of the demonic activity. Rin suddenly recognizes the features, knowing right away what demon is possessing Katsuo.

"…No way…he's been possessed!" Rin says in complete shock.

The possessed Katsuo speaks, "You really thought those pathetic Exorcists could get rid of the all-powerful Astaroth? Ha! He may not be able to slip past these stupid barriers, but I volunteered to fight in his stead! Prepare yourself!"

"{Shit!} Everyone, get away from here, NOW!" Hayato shouts.

Kenta draws his sword which sends the students running. With the area cleared, they are free to fight. Rin is about to draw his sword, but soon realizes some students are watching from the windows; now he has no choice but to fight without it. The younger Takenaka sibling sheaths his sword, having used it as an intimidation to clear the area; he knows he can't use it without killing Katsuo first.

"Damn! Hayato, what can we do? " Rin asks.

Hayato puts his hands together and begins to chant a Fatal Verse; he knows this demon to be a weaker Rot-element. The Rot demon begins to curse at the young Exorcist, throwing Seiya into a nearby tree, her back harshly smashing into the trunk. With that he charges at Hayato, who continues the verse, points a cross at the demon, beginning to make quick slashing movements; inside the cross is holy water which splashes all over Katsuo, harming the demon and not him.

Renzo and Kenta rush over to Seiya who can barely move; the pain is too great for her to handle. Just then, the possessed Katsuo jumps Rin, who quickly tries to counter, but the demon proceeds to pull back on his arms trying to break them. Hayato has no choice and pulls out a handgun, firing small bullets filled with holy water at Katsuo. This has a much greater effect and damages the demon further causing him to release Rin, who spins around and punches him in the stomach.

Clutching his stomach, the demon jumps back, and decides once more to attack Seiya. He shouts, "If I can't kill that Satan Spawn, then I'll just take care of the weaker link instead!"

"{Weaker link? Wait, how does he know about my powers?}" Seiya thinks thrown into confusion.

Kenta prepares himself and rushes at the demon, going for a tackle. Renzo tries to get Seiya off the ground and away from danger, but her back hurts too much for her to stand. The Rot demon plows over Kenta and closes in on the defenseless Renzo and Seiya, when suddenly, the egg starts to glow, and cracking sounds are heard. The egg hatches just as the demon closes in for the kill, and the baby demon leaps forth biting Katsuo's nose, showing no signs of letting go. The baby demon looks like a chibi version of a plesiosaur, only with the arms and legs of a dragon, the tail of a seal, and the stubby horns of a goat. It is mostly a sapphire blue with a snow white underbelly, and light grey leopard spots on its body alone. It growls loudly before the possessed Katsuo manages to fling it off him. While in midair, it fires a stream of water from its mouth that greatly harms the demon; Hayato realizes this baby demon must be a Light Element, or at least part.

Unable to hold onto Katsuo, the demon abandons its host, revealing itself to be an actual ghost with demonic features. Hayato wastes no time in shooting it, finally finishing it off. With the threat finally over and the Coal Tars disappearing, he hurries over with Rin to the others. At that moment, the baby demon waddles its way over to the group, looking up innocently at them with its light purple eyes. As the group reunites, the little creature makes its way to Seiya who is still on the ground, and makes a series of dooking noises with a sunny look on its face.

Kenta jokes, "Congratulations! It's a baby demon!"

Renzo says, "Kenta, now really isn't the time for jokes."

Hayato takes a look at Seiya saying, "She really needs treatment. Luckily for her, this damage isn't hospital-worthy."

"What about him?" Rin asks pointing to Katsuo.

"He'll wake up soon enough. What the?" Hayato goes to reply before Seiya's back starts to glow.

He looks down seeing the baby demon has placed one of its claws on Seiya's stomach. Within a minute, her injury is healed, but a minor bruise remains.

"{This thing can heal injuries? Just what kind of demon is it?}" Hayato asks himself.

A half hour later, Seiya is in the kitchen with a barely awake Yukio, and the baby demon. Ukobach has prepared a light lunch for Yukio to help his stomach, some udon for Seiya, and a mixture of fish for the baby demon, who happily digs in making a quick mess of its meal as it splashes onto the table. Mephisto enters the room having received word of the attack and the new hatchling. Upon seeing the rather happy hatchling, he is amazed at just how docile it is.

"So you say it used a water attack that damaged the Rot demon?" Yukio asks.

"Yeah. What was really weird was that the Rot demon was also a ghost. Do demons cross-breed?" Seiya responds.

"_Well that's a bit of a dumb question, Seiya. Have you met Rin and Kenta?_" Ukobach says with a deadpan look.

"I mean specifically in Gehenna, duh." Seiya fires back.

Mephisto replies, "Well, it isn't unheard of, but it can happen. That ghost that attacked was possibly a cross-breed that had more Rot-element traits compared to its Spirit-element. But this little guy could be a cross between a Water demon and a Light demon."

"Okay back up, Mephisto." Seiya quickly says. "Just how in the hell can a demon be anywhere close to use light-based attacks?"

"Oh you'd be amazed, my dear." he responds. "Anyway, it appears that this little guy looks closer to its Water-element parent than its Light one. What amazes me is how docile it is; it actually hatched just to protect you."

Yukio says, "As long as it isn't out to kill, I think it being friendly is a good thing. And, it's Seiya's first Familiar too."

"Hey yeah, that means it's on our side! Hmm, I wonder what gender it is?" Seiya says as she pets the baby demon.

Curious himself, Ukobach carefully lifts up the demon's tail before he's sprayed in the face. Face soaked he replies with a growl, "_Congrats, it's a boy…_"


	6. That Awkward Moment When

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 6:  
That Awkward Moment When…**

Another day off as Yukio recovers and the other Exorcist Instructors complete their missions. Seiya has named her new Familiar, Mizu, and has already gotten him used to everyone. As she has him swim around in the bath, noting he swims like a seal, she looks through a magazine and comes upon something that makes her eyes glow with joy.

"It's out! It's finally out! The next volume of Bleach!" but then her heart sinks, "Oh crap…I'd have to ask Mephisto on this one…I have to go off campus…"

Mizu then jumps out of the tub like a penguin and waddles over to Seiya, letting out a series of squeaks. She empties the tub, wraps a towel around her Familiar and walks out the women's bath.

Heading for Mephisto's office carrying Mizu in a backpack on her back, she suddenly hears yelling as she approaches the door. Opening the door a smidge with her Familiar peeking over her head, they find Rin and Kenta arguing with each other, with Mephisto getting increasingly annoyed with each passing minute.

Eventually Mephisto erupts, "That is enough, the both of you! I don't care who started what, I'll end it if you keep this up! Now, leave my office before I suspend the both of you are a month!"

Both Kenta and Rin fall instantly silent.

"Fine. But don't expect me to forgive and forget." Kenta states as he walks out of the office, completely missing his sister as his eyes are closed.

Mephisto facepalms grunting, "Just what in the hell got into him?"

Rin is about to answer when Seiya walks in, "He's so quirky, even a psychologist doesn't know what to do with him."

"Seiya? Shouldn't you be in the garden?" Rin asks.

"Well since I pretty much have a baby to look after, I need to change things up a bit." Seiya answers petting Mizu. "So, what did my brother do?"

"Question is, where do I begin?" Mephisto responds leaning back in his chair.

Seiya says with a gentle smile, "Jeez, I've never seen you so exhausted before."

"You weren't kidding when you said he was more than a trip." Mephisto replies. "So, young Seiya, is there something you need?"

"Oh uh, I don't wanna bother you if you're this wo—" she goes to say before he interrupts, "Oh please Seiya, I think I can drop my bad mood for you."

"…{Okay, why in the hell does he treat her so well?}" Rin begins to think getting jealous and suspicious.

Seiya rubs the back of her head before saying, "Well okay then. I just read this magazine and learned the newest volume of Bleach just came out. Problem is, I can't exactly go off campus, huh?"

Mephisto smirks saying, "Technically, you're not a student of the academy, only the cram school. You and your brother have been cooped up here long enough I think."

"…A-are you saying…?" Seiya goes to ask.

"I'll allow you to go off campus. However, I think I'll restrain your brother a bit longer." Mephisto answers.

"Out of spite, right?" Seiya asks.

Mephisto only shrugs with a smirk on his face. That was a "yes". Rin then begs to go with Seiya for the same reason, and on the flip side make sure she's safe. The headmaster ponders this for a moment, and decides to allow it so long as Kurikara isn't drawn; Seiya needs to learn to defend herself and others, along with the fact there's a new demon to train. Rin agrees with a happy expression, and Mephisto gives another condition: that they get him a copy as well as he hands over some extra cash.

Off campus and walking the streets, Rin is at his happiest being able to get away from the academy, though this is cut short when he notices how nervous Seiya has gotten. Mizu takes notice of this and hides in the backpack. He goes to ask why but then remembers what he learned; Seiya and Kenta have been basically behind closed doors for the last five years. Seiya has been unable to rejoin the world because she could never stay away from her brother, should he lose complete control. Seiya uses her Aura Sight Ability, taking comfort in that she can't detect any demons. Unknown to them, however, they are being followed.

Several minutes later, they reach a local shop where the manga is being sold. They head inside and Seiya quickly locates the Bleach manga, grabbing two of them before no more are left. Rin decides on another manga that he is currently reading. The two soon exit with their prizes in tow, along with a box of pocky Seiya got, sharing it with Rin.

Upon taking one, Rin then asks, "Hey Seiya, I'm curious. I've been wanting to ask since we met. Don't you and Kenta have relatives you could've lived with instead of taking up Mephisto's offer?"

Seiya chuckles at first saying, "And how was I supposed to explain that Kenta's a demon?" She then becomes serious, "Although yes, we do have relatives, but they live in other countries. My birth father's parents live somewhere in Russia, our birth mother's parents have been dead before I was born. Their siblings – our aunts and uncles – live here in Japan save for one that moved to Italy to be with some person they met online. But neither of them would've been able to support us at all."

"…Do you talk to them at all?"

"Here and there. I'm still tight with my grandparents, and I write letters to my aunts and uncles. However, I never told them about Kenta being a demon…so I had to lie about that night."

"Oh jeez, Seiya…you two definitely have it rougher than me and Yukio."

"I don't know about that one."

Along the way back, they are suddenly caught off guard by someone. Seiya doesn't even need her Aura Sight Ability for this one; his aura radiates demonic energy with similar levels to Mephisto. The person in front of them has similar eyes compared to Mephisto, but is much shorter and wears more emo-like attire, at least what one would consider "emo". His hair is short and green, the one odd trait being a bit of his hair has been shaped into a "spike" at the top of his head. Oddly enough, he wears boots that have a curve, just like Mephisto's boots. Seiya can feel Mizu cowering in fear as he shivers in the backpack. She starts to do the same, not liking his energy.

Rin growls trying to remain calm for her, "Alright pal, just who are you and what do you want?"

"Excuse me," the man starts, "but I'm not after you, not right now anyway. I'm more interested in that girl there, the one my brother's kept secret from our father for some time now."

"Your brother?" Seiya asks nervously, fearing the answer.

"Yes. Maybe you've heard of him: Mephisto." the green-haired man answers.

Both Seiya and Rin are unable to process this startling information. She wants to remove her gloves and go for a hit-and-run-type of attack, but she backs out of the idea.

Rin goes on the offensive, "If you want Seiya, you'll have to go through me first."

"Oh I plan on it, but you don't look like much of a challenge." the man responds, practically taunting Rin.

At that moment, Seiya hears the notification tone on her cell phone. Problem is, it's in her backpack with Mizu. Unable to reach for it, the man suddenly charges. Rin quickly deflects the advance, and the two engage in a struggle. Seiya can't attack; she doesn't want to harm Rin, not to mention the fact they're in public. Suddenly, Mizu throws the cell phone out of the pack. Seiya catches it and takes a look at the message; it's from Mephisto, telling her not to make a move and that he's on his way. Seiya throws the phone back in her backpack.

The struggle continues until the green-haired man wins and throws Rin across the street into an alley, crashing into a few trash cans. Seiya rushes over, avoiding traffic and makes it to Rin. But then, the green-haired man sneaks up from behind, wraps an arm around her waist and jumps up onto a rooftop. Almost upon landing, her instinct to protect her Familiar kicks in, and she bites down hard on his ear, causing him to let go of her. She falls onto the rooftop and starts to make a run for it, but the man effortlessly jumps in front of her. A bit angered that she's managed to make his ear bleed, Seiya can now switch to the offensive, and thinking quickly takes off her left glove and fires her Starlight Burst attack. It hits dead on, but when the nova clears, the man appears unharmed. She is bewildered, unable to believe she couldn't leave a mark on him.

The man scratches his belly saying, "This is the best you can do? Why does father have an interest in you again?"

Seiya staggers back, now being gripped by fear's paralyzing grasp and asks falling onto her backside, "J-j-just who are you?! W-what do you want with me? GO AWAY!"

"Oh no, I'm not going anywhere now." the man responds readying his claws. "You see, I've never come across humans with powers like yours that are so weak, yet a bite force strong enough to make me bleed. Now, I'm going to make you bleed. Hmm, I did promise a cousin to bring him back a human eyeball…"

Seiya's fear continues to grow, unable to move a muscle. Mizu then takes a chance, jumping out of the backpack and spraying the man with his water attack. Although the "spike" on his head sags, the man is unaffected. Seiya grabs Mizu and starts to run, but she trips over her own feet, and Mizu is sent sliding, gently bumping into the wall. He watches helplessly as the man towers over the frozen Seiya. He cries out - with it sounding like a stressed out whale – and just before the man could make his move, Mephisto suddenly appears in between them, the point of his umbrella meeting the man's throat.

The two demons have a brief stare-down until Mephisto whacks the man over the head with his umbrella. The man goes flying across the rooftop and falls off crashing into a dumpster, the impact forcing the lid shut. Mephisto turns around to check on Seiya, only to find her frightened beyond belief. He thinks he should've just had the two driven to the store and back; he never expected his brother to do what he did.

Back at the academy, Rin has been treated for his injuries, though minor. He now rests in his room, too sore to move. Seiya, however, can't calm down for even a second. The intent to kill in that man's eyes pierces deeply into her soul, and she cannot erase it from her mind. Not to mention what he had said, about his "father" being interested in her. In Mephisto's office, she pleads with him for answers. He looks at her with eyes telling her he really doesn't want to explain, but he knows at some point he would've had to…he just didn't want it to be now.

With a sigh of defeat, he seats Seiya down on the couch and sits across from her. Mizu tries to climb up on the couch, but sensing the auras around him, he decides to just hide under the couch Seiya sits on.

"Seiya…" Mephisto starts, "What that man told you…we are related. He is my brother, Amaimon."

"Then who's your father? And what does he want with me?" Seiya demands.

Mephisto sighs, closing his eyes, thinking back to a previous night. He had met with Amaimon atop a construction site sipping tea. His brother questions him on Rin, though he confidently responds that his growth is going smoothly as planned. But before Amaimon leaves with the news, he remembers Satan had asked about the two "demonic siblings" he hid away five years ago. Mephisto goes from calm to slight panic, keeping his real heart attack hidden. The now astonished headmaster demands how Satan knew about the Takenaka Siblings. When Amaimon explains that their demonic father was actually a part of Astaroth's group that went slightly awol, the king of time couldn't believe what he was hearing. Satan had apparently known about the two since Kenta was born…and decided to make Kenta a failsafe should Rin be a failure. However, both boys were raised to be humans, and with Seiya having obtained an odd ability, his mind started to race.

Mephisto goes on, "So as you can see…our father, is Satan; Rin is our youngest brother as well. However, I'm the only rebel, as you can tell by my accomplishments here. I did threaten Amaimon that I'd kill him should he harm a single hair in your head; apparently he failed to listen and called my bluff."

"…How can I trust you?" Seiya suddenly says.

This shocks Mephisto, his eyes growing wide. "S-Seiya—" he goes to say but she stops him, "SAVE IT!"

He grows silent. She goes on, "How…how can I believe you? How can I after all this? My powers could be a weapon against Satan…you know what, you're full of shit now!"

"Seiya, you're being irrational!"

"Shut up! There are a bunch of secrets you've kept locked away from me and my brother ever since you took us in! Now I see your true colors…you just made this academy so you could eventually turn on everybody, didn't you?"

"No that isn't—"

"I've had enough. I thought I could trust you, Mephisto, but you're just one of them, aren't you!"

"…"

"It's over. I'm getting Kenta, and from this moment on, we're no longer apart of this cursed place!"

Seiya storms out of the office, slamming the door shut. Mephisto can't believe what just occurred. Thanks to Amaimon, he just lost someone he became an idol to. Mizu then crawls out from underneath the couch making whining noises. Even he isn't sure what just happened, but wants Seiya. After a moment passes looking at the door, Mizu realizes Seiya isn't coming back, and looks up at Mephisto with big, sad eyes. For once, Mephisto doesn't know what to do.

Outside Kenta's classroom, Seiya peers inside able to see her little brother. She goes to knock on the door, when something stops her. It's her conscience. The black-haired sibling lowers her fist and finds herself in deep though.

"…{What am I doing? Do I really want to leave? Argh, I have to! Mephisto's no better than Satan himself! This whole academy's nothing but a well-planned façade! Yet…something's stopping me…what…what is this feeling? Is it…guilt? No! Stop thinking like that, Seiya! But…ah shit.}"

Seiya finally comes to her senses. She begins to feel in the wrong about what she had said to the one person she learned to trust. The one person that saved her life. Before the bell rings she quickly turns tail and runs back to the headmaster's office. Once there though, she finds Mephisto is no longer there. She frantically looks around the office thinking maybe he's just hiding, but comes across nothing. At that hopeless moment, Mizu comes out of hiding with a familiar pink ribbon with white polka dots, the same one Mephisto wears in his dog form. He gives her a sad and worried look.

"…Did he…no!"

She quickly scoops up Mizu and rushes out the office crying out Mephisto's name.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Mephisto has encountered Amaimon at an abandoned building, just perfect enough for letting loose any kind of demonic energy. Having abandoned his hat and cape, as well as a missing scarf, the king of time stares down the king of earth, who shows no sign of intimidation.

"Well, what is it, Brother? What's so urgent that you wanted to meet me here?" Amaimon starts.

Mephisto angrily responds, "You know full well why I wanted to meet you here, as far from the academy as possible."

"And that would be?"

"I warned you not to touch Seiya. But you went ahead and did so anyway, didn't you?"

"I was told not to touch a hair on her head. I never even scratched her."

"Drop it, Amaimon. You attacked her and Rin earlier. She's so traumatized I've had to tell her about you, which is something I planned on keeping secret longer."

"If you want to yell at someone, then father's to—"

"SHUT IT! Don't pull the blame game with me. I don't care if the Paladin of the True Cross Order or God himself told you to go after Seiya, I told you specifically not to touch her. You are in my play ground, and you just broke the number one rule."

Amaimon sighs, "Oh father was afraid something like this would happen."

Mephisto demands, "What are you getting at?"

"When Kenta's powers first awoken, and Seiya somehow absorbing it producing her own, father wanted those two that very night. However, you got in the way. He had a strong feeling you might fall for the girl…and it's obvious you have."

"…"

"Yup, you have. I can see right through you."

"You know, just as I'm not ashamed of being a proud otaku, I'm not ashamed I have feelings for a human."

"Oh?"

"I don't know what it is about Seiya, but there's something I like about her, something I haven't seen in any other woman."

"Keh, you were only waiting for her to be of age, weren't you, brother?"

The older Takenaka sibling rushes through busy streets filled with fret. Mizu remains in the backpack whining on occasion. As Seiya hurries to Mephisto's location using her Aura Sight Ability nearly pushing it to its limits, when she feels two powerful surges; they're coming from Amaimon and Mephisto, but she can't tell which one is winning, they're both strikingly similar. Dark clouds begin to roll in, blocking out the sun. Light rain quickly becomes a decent downpour.

In the meantime, the two brothers clash like lions fighting over territory. Their energies burst with each clash, the rain actually being sent flying away from them. Neither use any of their own abilities, only going for punches, kicks, and even slashes. Coming together in one powerful struggle, the drenched ground causes both the brothers to lose their footing, their heads hitting each other before falling to the ground. Both manage to recover quickly and jump back up, separating themselves by several feet. Another stare-down ensues.

At last, Seiya arrives at their location, but keeps herself hidden from view. Mizu climbs out of the backpack and watches on, clutching onto Seiya's shoulder feeling the intensity. Her Aura Sight Ability begins to wane, unable to handle the fierce auras both brothers are putting out.

Amaimon breathes heavily saying, "Brother, we're even."

Mephisto responds, "Oh there's still a great difference between us. All I need to do is snap my fingers and it's all over."

"How can you be so sure about that when your arms and legs are trembling?"

"{Tch, he's right. I'm not built to fight like this, not for very long anyway. Keh, I haven't had to fight like this in a long time.} In that case Amaimon, we finish this! {Shiro…looks like I might be joining you sooner than expected.}"

Within seconds, the two begin to clash again, this time with a strong intent to finish the other off. Seiya watches in horror as Mephisto's aura begins to weaken, and Amaimon begins to land powerful blows. Mizu starts to urge Seiya to do something, but she doesn't know what to do. That is, until the king of time coughs up blood. The need to stop the fight overwhelms her better nature as she rushes into the fray removing her gloves.

"STOOOOOOOP!" she cries.

Before either brother knew what was going on, white and gold flames come rushing towards them at an incredible speed. Mephisto leaps out of the way in time but Amaimon is unable to dodge, the majority of the fire directly aimed at him. He becomes engulfed, being sent flying into a rusted up vehicle. The king of earth can no longer move. Mephisto leans against a street light holding his stomach, blood dripping from his mouth, mostly due to the heavy rain. He slides down onto the ground unable to stand any longer; he has taken enough damage.

Seiya hurries over to him, quickly falling to her knees and pulling him into a tight embrace, apologizing for what she had said earlier, adding in she didn't mean it, that she was in a confused state of mind. Unable to stay upset, Mephisto accepts the apology, but to his surprise as well as Seiya and Mizu's, he begins to succumb to his injuries. The king of time coughs up more blood before becoming limp. Mizu quickly climbs out of the backpack and onto Mephisto, attempting to heal him like he did Seiya, but for some reason, it doesn't work. The little Familiar is unable to heal the demon.

"NO! Mephisto! Y-you can't be…! You-you just can't…!" Seiya cries.

Mephisto can only gently smile looking up at her. He says weakly, "Don't be like that, young Seiya… Do you remember what I told you on your first night five years ago?"

Rewind five years. It's nighttime, and Seiya tries to make herself comfortable in her new room at the academy. She isn't sure how to feel about being educated privately away from other kids her age, but she starts to accept the fact it's for the best. Otherwise, her brother will lose control of himself. As she fluffs her pillow, a knock arises at the door. She answers it, finding the tricky headmaster.

"You know, Mr. Faust," she begins, using his alias, "you don't have to do this."

Mephisto replies with a smile on his face, "Oh but I want to, young Seiya. You should consider yourself and your brother very lucky I came across you at all a couple nights ago."

Seiya turns around looking out her window explaining, "I just don't know. I haven't been able to sleep well. I don't know how to explain it, but…it's like I lost all sense of protection, y'know? Like I don't feel safe anymore. Who am I supposed to trust now? My whole world's been flipped upside-down, and I don't know what to think anymore…"

When she turns around to look at him, he was standing right behind her. Using one hand he pulls her close, and the other to gently pet her head. He tells her in a soft tone, "Seiya, you don't need to feel that way. Regardless of what happens, I will be right here, protecting you and Kenta. There is no need to worry one bit."

"…M-Mr. Faust?"

"Hm?"

"This is a bit awkward don't you think?"

"Tch, you like ruining moments, don't you?"

Return to the present. The rain shows no sign of letting up, washing the blood from Mephisto's face, and hiding Seiya's tears. She had actually forgotten for a split second about what he said. Despite her ruining the moment, those words were true. He made her feel safe regardless of the situation. But now, she's entered yet another powerless situation, causing her to recall that night she lost everything but her brother.

Losing strength, Mephisto says, "Seiya…you make sure…Rin and Kenta…don't get themselves killed…"

"No, dammit! You're not gonna die! Not here! Not now…! Mephisto!" Seiya pleads.

"…I won't be gone…I'll be…right…here…" the king of time says pointing to her heart.

"Mephisto!"

His hand suddenly falls to the ground, and his eyes close. Seiya's heart nearly stops. Mizu isn't sure what's going on. The baby Familiar tugs at Mephisto's coat, but no response. Mizu then mirrors what Simba from the Lion King did when he realized Mufasa wasn't moving, and starts running around crying for help. Flames suddenly surround Seiya, but this time, they're not just white and gold…blue subtly begins to mix in. Baby Mizu watches in awe.

Seiya growls holding the lifeless king of time close, "No…! I can't lose you…! I-I refuse to lose you!"

The white flames become more intense, blue flames mixing in more.

"You made me feel safe up until now!"

Hardly any white flame is left.

"MEPHISTOOOOO!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Let me explain this chapter. I really needed something to happen to Seiya in between the two days off Yukio receives. And I really wanted to work in the ever-popular Amaimon a bit sooner than expected to spice things up. Hey, technically, he's already appeared by now, but I never went into that extra.

As far as the fist fight the brothers get into, I tried looking into Amaimon's strengths without spoiling myself, so I looked up the only fight that YouTube would give (I wanted Amaimon and Rin's first encounter, but the fight in the forest clearly wins the popularity battles). Since Mephy-kun doesn't get to display what he can really do, even the Wiki states that his true powers are unknown, so all we get is:  
teleportation (end of ep2)  
transformation (ep3)  
summoning a cuckoo clock  
the Flaming Pentagram (that Arthur doused)  
Time-Space Manipulation

So I decided instead of trying to use abilities I can't even begin to try and explain, and since there's absolutely nothing in Amaimon's profile (which is sad), I just pit them against each other in a good-old-fashioned fist fight just to avoid any complications.

I know they're both using "vessels", but since I have yet to witness how Amaimon became a hamster to begin with, I don't know to what extent everything can go. I mean do they die along with the vessel or what the hell is going on. So I wanted to explore Seiya's untapped powers more as I'm still trying to figure out what she is. I don't want her being another demon since her birth parents were humans, so I'm looking at Fallen Angels. They're not exactly demons, from my understanding, they're angels that sinned and got cast out of heaven (Satan is actually one of these but decided to be a bigger asshole about it).

So it's a lot of character development in every sense of the word.

I also thought the brothers clashing near an abandoned building would be best so this way it avoids having the cliche of things being destroyed, blah blah blah. Mephy likes keeping things hidden so, why not?

And yeah, I worked in a rain cliche, just go with it.

Anyway, hopefully this is one of my stronger chapters as it does reveal more of Seiya and Mephisto's relationship.


	7. The Bond Time Builds

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 7:  
The Bond Time Builds**

Trying to pry himself free from the rusted vehicle, Amainon watches in awe at the flames Seiya is producing. Blue flames overwhelm the white, with gold coloration being the only thing left of Seiya's. Soon, those overwhelmed white flames build up around the lifeless Mephisto, only they appear to be non-damaging. Mizu is in pure awe watching as the blue flames begin to mix back in with the white soon surrounding the king of time. He tries to get close to try his healing ability, but the flames slightly burn his claw. The little Familiar stays back as both colored flames surround the two.

As this is going on, Seiya's white flames start to come back to her, and Mephisto's blue flames return to him, being absorbed into his body. Any blood left on his face is completely washed away from the rain. However, Seiya's mouth begins to drip blood as her canine suddenly become sharper, like a demon's, yet her ears remain the same and no tail appears to grow. Both the king of earth and the little familiar look on in confusion. Next thing they know, Seiya collapses as the flames disperse, falling onto Mephisto's chest.

"Ngh…damn…I feel so drained…" Seiya says, her eyelids becoming heavy. "What…what just happened…?"

Mizu cries out as she loses consciousness. Taking the opportunity, Amaimon finally frees himself from the vehicle and makes a run for it. Mizu notices and tries to hit him with his water attack, but the king of earth is too quick and gets away.

Voices soon fill the silent air, and Mizu takes cover underneath Seiya.

"Hey, over here! I found Mephisto!"

"That student's with him too! Yikes, they look like hell."

"Guys, there's been one hell of a fight here; look at the ground."

"Forget the ground, look at the car!"

"Get the Doctors over here now! These two need treatment—whoa, the hell is that thing?"

"Relax, it's a Familiar. It looks terrified, be careful."

"Just what the hell happened here?"

A few hours later, Seiya slowly starts to wake up. She looks around finding she's back in her room. Once her mind begins to catch up, she recalls what happened earlier, both Mephisto and Amaimon battling, and her stopping it. However, she can't recall what happened after the king of time went limp. Mizu then appears at the foot of her bed with a happy look on his face. Glad to see her awake at last, he climbs up to her face and begins to lick her like a dog, but she stops him as she sits up. She isn't happy. She had just watched the one person she learned to trust die in her arms…yet despite having apologized about what she said earlier, Seiya can't help but feel responsible for everything.

"Oh Mizu…" she says pulling him close. "What am I gonna do? I feel like I killed him…I was…THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO!"

The baby Familiar looks at her confused. He knows she did do something, but what exactly he doesn't know. He wiggles out of her arms and starts being playful to get her to follow him. The last thing on her mind is play until Mizu sprays her with his water. This gets her in motion as she chases him out of the room and down the hall. Seiya eventually trips over her own feet, her face hitting the floor. She pops back up almost instantly when she feels something sharp in her mouth cut her bottom lip. When her tongue runs along her lip detecting blood, she feels something odd. She sees a window and uses the sill to pull herself up. Looking at her reflection with her mouth open, she finds her canines have grown out into fangs.

"The hell?! Is this a cruel joke? Why do I have fangs?"

Thinking the unthinkable, she looks herself over finding her ears are still round and no tail. Lost in confusion, Seiya stares at these new fangs, poking at them until a familiar voice scares her. Looking over, she finds Yukio who is amazed she's moving at all.

"Seiya, you shouldn't be able to stand from what I heard." Yukio starts. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

Shock finds its way to Seiya's face as she asks, "Wait, you heard about what happened?"

"Well yeah, I am an Exorcist after all."

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Huh?"

"If you heard about everything then you know…that…"

Seiya's unable to complete her sentence. Depression returns to her as tears quickly build up and fall from her eyes.

Another familiar voice stops the tears as they say, "What's with the tears, young Seiya?"

Seiya looks towards the stairs, finding Mephisto being helped around by Hayato. There isn't a scratch on him, no bruising, no blood coming from his mouth…nothing. The deep jade green eyed girl is overcome with emotion and confusion; she watched him die in her arms. Her emotions end up winning, and she nearly glomps him as she embraces him, burying her face in his chest. Hayato supports Mephisto from behind and he wraps his arms around her.

Hearing the commotion, Ukobach comes running out of the kitchen, halting himself the moment he saw what was going on. He breathes a sigh of relief and smiles; he's aware of what happened just a few hours ago.

Seiya cries, "Mephisto…I can't believe it, you're alive! But, how? You went limp, dammit!"

Mephisto responds petting her head, "Are you saying you don't recall saving my life?"

"Huh? How did I save you? You DIED!" Seiya responds.

Yukio says scratching his head, "Interesting. Whatever she did to revive you gave her amnesia."

Hayato says, "I think we should explain what happened."

Back in her room, Seiya is told of what happened after Mephisto seemingly died. One way or another, she managed to infuse her flames into his body, pulling out what little life he still had left. Then, using her own energy, she had revived his, giving him the strength to recover. However, as she fed Mephisto his energy back, she had accidentally absorbed a little of his demonic energy, giving her fangs as a result. In reviving Mephisto saving him from certain death, it took a huge toll on her own energy completely draining her, causing her to black out. Being explained all this, that event comes back to her.

But then she thinks of something else. Mephisto had saved her and Kenta five years ago. Now Seiya has saved Mephisto. She begins to think she returned the favor, and that they're even.

The king of time chuckles, petting her on the head once again, "Seiya, don't start thinking that way, my dear. To be completely honest, something like this only deepens the bond between two people. I couldn't be any happier that you showed up when you did, and I'm glad you came."

"But I'm the one who said all those nasty things at the start of it all!" Seiya argues, clearly not getting the picture.

"Seiya," Yukio starts, "I'm not sure what actually occurred in his office, but his goal was to set Amaimon straight. It's just unfortunate they got into such a brutal battle."

Mephisto adds, "And you started nothing, Seiya. I'm the one who should've told you sooner, though I didn't expect Amaimon to go after you the way he did. Truthfully, he's the one to blame, not you."

Seiya cannot think of any words to say. She simply leans into the king of time and begins sobbing. Despite all that just happened, Mephisto has not only forgiven her, but that he isn't pointing fingers at her; heck he isn't even angry with her. The tricky headmaster wraps his arms around her, keeping one gently on her head. Hayato decides to leave the two alone, being followed out the room by Yukio carrying Mizu.

The following morning, Mephisto finds Seiya sitting on one of the couches in his office reading the Bleach manga she had picked up yesterday; his copy rests on his desk. Mizu is busy playing with a squeaky ball, occasionally balancing it on his nose. The tricky headmaster is a bit taken aback with an eyebrow raised. The girl eventually notices he's here and greets him waving hello.

Shutting the door Mephisto asks, "Uh, Seiya, what are you doing in here?"

Saving the page she's on, Seiya answers, "…To be honest, I'm not even sure. Maybe the shock from yesterday hasn't washed over yet… Heh, this feeling I have is very confusing. It's like, I don't wanna be away from you."

"{I think I know what's going on. But I'll let her figure it out; she does need to learn, after all.}" he smiles responding, "Having company may not be such a bad idea. It can be lonely in here sometimes. But you do realize, you do have cram school later on."

"Oh I know. I'll be heading off when it's time."

Later on during cram school, Yukio announces the upcoming Exwire exams. He explains that before summer vacation, which is less than a month and a half away, that an Exwire Boot Camp will be held within the old dormitory for a whole week starting Monday, and hands out a sheet of paper explaining that everyone should decide on what to Meister in. Seiya is happy to see this sheet, having already studied up on each title. Rin, confused, asks Bon and his group about what it all is with Koneko explaining everything. Kenta, although confused at first, figures out what he wants to do, until he stops himself.

"Hey sis, what are all of these titles anyway?" he asks.

"Baka." Seiya answers before sounding like an instructor, "Since we're going to be part of the Exwire exam, we need to decide on which title we think we'd be best suited for. A Knight is an Exorcist who uses swords and is best suited for close-quarters combat. A Dragoon uses guns and is better suited for far distance combat. Sure, you can close in with a gun and really deal some nasty damage at point blank range, but I wouldn't recommend that. An Aria is an Exorcist who would need to be covered by others, as they chant specific Fatal Versus on that demon. Each demon has its own verse, so that Exorcist needs to have a perfect memory, or they're virtually useless. A Doctor is self-explanatory; they heal those who are injured in battle. Unless they Meister in something else, they're another one that needs to be covered or the injured are screwed. And finally a Tamer is an Exorcist that summons demons to battle for them. You need two things: a magic circle and your blood. You also need a strong heart; should it weaken in any way, the Familiar will turn on you, and to save yourself you need to destroy the magic circle, or you're dinner."

Having overheard, the class looks at her as if she had ten heads. The way she explained everything made it sound as if she wrote the book on Exorcists. She rubs the back of her head with a nervous laugh once she takes notice. Although Yukio is happy she's done so much research, he tells her that next time to let him explain. Looking back at their sheets, Kenta decides to shoot for being a Dragoon and a Knight; his sister aims for Knight and Tamer.

A bit later, another Exorcist begins to teach the class about Taming. This man is fairly tall with an eye patch over his left eye and messy brown hair. Seiya isn't very trusting of him already. She has seen him around before during her time at True Cross. He introduces himself as Igor Neuhaus. Neuhaus draws a magic circle on the floor using chalk and shows the class how to summon a demon, making it their Familiar. Seiya and Izumo are confident enough, as one already has a baby Familiar and the other comes from a line of shrine maidens. When it's Izumo's turn, she's able to summon two Byakko effortlessly. Kenta gives it a shot, trying to mimic the Green Lantern's chant, but nothing happens. It's finally Seiya's turn.

"{Okay, think of something good.} I now summon you to the world of Assiah, come forth and aid me in battle!" Seiya chants.

After a few seconds, something happens. An icy blue wind circulates around her from two different directions, and from behind her appears a beautiful ice-blue bird with a white thunderbolt-shaped crest. The bird before her has the body and head of a Tropical Screech Owl, its wings are covered in covert feathers similar to that of a peacock but vary in the light, glistening from white to bright yellow. The tail is long and fluffy with feathers on the top part of it, ending in three thunderbolt-shaped feathers. The neck is somewhat long as the face is slimmed to fit the fragile-looking frame. Aside from two tufts on its head, it shows a brilliant crown that shapes itself to look like a tiara and is a stunning silver. Its eyes are a beautiful amber. The Familiar is no bigger than 5'03".

The magnificent bird lands on the ground and speaks revealing it to be female, "Greetings, Young Master. I am Masami, a proud demon of the Air Tribe."

Neuhaus looks on saying, "Very impressive, Seiya. It's almost like you've done this before."

Izumo at that moment becomes jealous at the near flawless summon, until Shiemi announces she wants to try. Upon her turn, when it seemed like nothing would appear, a tiny scarecrow-looking demon pops into her hands. Neuhaus remarks she's summoned a Baby Greenman, and Earth demon. Once everyone has given it their best, Neuhaus tells the class that should they ever waver and the demon attacks, all they need to do is tear up the paper which he demonstrates. The Ghoul he summoned disappears. Both Seiya and Shiemi decide against it.

After class, Kenta is pouting over the fact he doesn't have a Familiar, yet his sister now sports two of them. As she explains that Mizu is too young for battle, that he'd be more of a companion, Izumo confronts her.

"{Oh great, it's Ultra Bitch.} What's up, Izumo?" Seiya asks.

Izumo immediately goes for the jugular, "You think you're pretty special, don't you?"

"Not really." Seiya responds. "I may have two Familiars now, but Masami here is gonna be more used for battle. I plan on getting to know her better and training with her to see not what only she can do, but how we can function as a team."

With that, Izumo isn't sure how to respond. Instead she says, "Yeah, well, just don't lose your confidence or you're dead meat." and quickly walks away.

"Jeez, the hell crawled up her ass and died, huh?" Kenta remarks.

Masami says, "Goodness, is she always that snobby? I doubt those Byakko will listen to her very well with that kind of attitude."

"Which is exactly why I just do things on my own terms and not try to bring everyone down just to inflate my own non-existent ego." Seiya says, hands on her hips.

Bon overhears this and whistles saying, "Damn Seiya, that's pretty harsh! Remind me not to cross you."

"Ah don't worry Bon. I know how to deal with people with low self-esteem." Seiya responds.

"You think her self-esteem is low?" Bon asks.

Masami answers, "You mean you can't sense that?"

Kenta adds in, "Yeah, she practically wreaks of it. I give those fox spirits about…five more summons before they start disobeying her like a traded Pokemon."

When Shiemi exits the classroom, she chases after Izumo telling her to wait. After about ten cries, the rude girl gives in and asks the gentle girl what she wants. Shiemi expresses she wants to be friends with her, and soon taking advantage of her kind nature, Izumo decides to pretend to be her friend, already telling her to carry her bag. Shiemi does as told and follows Izumo and Paku.

The group looks on already having a feeling of what's going on. Seiya then jokes about wanting to sink her fangs into Izumo's neck hoping poison shoots into her bloodstream. The guys try not to laugh as they nervously take a few steps away from now "bitchy" Takenaka Sibling.

Back at the dorm, the Takenaka siblings decide to help clean the place up as Yukio prepares a room to use as a classroom. Mizu and Masami clean up the floors with the baby Familiar riding on a scrub brush and Masami pushing him along at high speeds. Hayato decides to pay a visit to see if the group needs any help preparing anything, having received word from Kenta. So far things are going smoothly, until everyone hears a crash. They all hurry to where the sound is and find Mizu with swirls for eyes on his back, the bucket of soapy water on Masami's head, and the scrub brush several inches from them.

"Masami! Mizu! Are you two okay?" Seiya asks removing the bucket from the Air Demon's head.

Masami replies, "Yeah, we're okay. I think I flew through the hallway too quickly and couldn't stop Mizu from crashing. I'll have this hall dried up in a jiffy."

"Are you sure? You're soaked." Rin asks.

The Air Demon responds, "You're looking at an Avian Air Demon, Rin-san. I can summon up a strong and warm enough breeze to dry everything in seconds."

Everyone hears a voice say, "Wow, an Air Demon! Who summoned that Familiar today?"

They turn to find Mephisto in his dog form. Much to Masami's dismay, he had unknowingly tracked dirt on the clean floors. He looks behind him and although it's minor dirt, Masami takes her wet wings and starts scrubbing all over again. He takes this opportunity to transform into his human-self; he has no dirt on his shoes.

Kenta tries to steal the show saying he summoned the avian, but she zaps him and he collapses to the ground, charred, with swirls for eyes. Rin points out Seiya had summoned the bird in class and didn't want to tear up the magic circle so she could learn more about her new Familiar. Mephisto seems pleased that Seiya is able to control two Familiars, though Mizu's choice to respond to her appears to be out of a maternal-type bond. The true test is really Masami.

"So Mephisto, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be taking care of paper work or something?" Seiya asks picking up the still dizzy Mizu.

"{Keep your true motive hidden.} I'm just simply making my own rounds around the campus now that the Exwire exams are about to take place. Last thing any of us needs is a powerful demon getting through, right?" Mephisto answers.

Rin gives a look thinking, "{Technically, you're looking at one.}"

"Fair enough. There have been an odd increase in demons in the forest, and some of them are more troublesome than they should be. I'll get together with another Exorcist and make sure the forest is secure." Hayato offers.

"Good idea, Hayato. There is one Exorcist in waiting outside. I think she'll be more than qualified to aid you." Mephisto suggests.

Hayato responds, "Alright then. We'll report anything odd we find."

As Hayato leaves, Yukio returns to the room he is trying to prepare. Kenta, having snapped out of his overpowerment, shakes off some of the char from his clothes. Masami sees this and goes berserk, chasing him through the halls shooting off electric bolts and cold gusts of wind. Rin simply hurries off wanting to avoid Masami's wrath at all costs. A bit perturbed by the guys quickly vanishing, Seiya goes to pick up the scrub brush, but Mephisto had already done so, placing it in the bucket he just picked up.

Seiya clears her throat and asks again, "So why are you really here? Making rounds is a good cover story y'know."

Mephisto smirks knowing he can't outsmart her replying, "Sharp as always. Although I am seriously making rounds, I came to check up on you. When you left my office I noticed you were limping."

"Ah, it's nothing." Seiya responds. "I can feel it, it's nothing more than a badly pulled muscle. Probably from all that running. Although I'm actually glad to see you're moving okay."

"I've actually been battling quite the headache all day. I must've really used up a lot of my power yesterday."

"That's another thing: where did that bastard run off to anyway?"

"I'm not really sure. For all I know, he's back in Gehenna."

"Good, he can stay there." She sighs, "Now I have to go locate my brother and Masami and calm her down—eep!"

Mephisto has pulled her close all of a sudden. She looks up at him puzzled, trying to remind him she is holding Mizu. He comes back saying he only wants a hug, trying to imitate Dr. Evil's voice from Austin Powers. This gets her to giggle, and she happily turns around to hug him. Mizu feels sudden pressure from both bodies coming close, wakes up, and sprays the both of them in the face.

Mephisto grumbles, "Well, I see we have a second moment ruiner on campus."


	8. Falling Star

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 8:  
Falling Star**

The weekend passes by quickly for everyone. While Kenta has been practicing new sword techniques to be ready for anything, Seiya has been training with not just Rin, but also her two Familiars, Masami and Mizu. Turns out all Mizu can do is use his water attack and heal, which means he's much too young for battle and has dropped down to companion. Masami has come equipped with several moves that highly support Seiya's pyrokinesis. The elder sibling has even given them names, although a bit uncreative.

As of now, it is the night before boot camp starts. Seiya is exiting the forest riding on Masami's back completely exhausted. The black-haired girl has used up a lot of her energy, trying to perfect her fireballs and streams. Though that revival move starts to bug her. She has tried using it on Rin when he suffered another accidental attack, but nothing happened. Instead, Mizu was able to treat him. The girl looks at her gloved hands, wondering why she was unable to heal the older twin.

Masami then brings up Izumo and how she's been taking advantage of Shiemi the past couple days. Although both would like to rip Shiemi away and try to make light of the situation, they know she won't listen. Ever since Rin told Bon that he and Shiemi weren't friends to hide his embarrassment, Shiemi's been distant from Seiya as well. It's pointless to think about it, and to let the girl learn the hard way at this rate.

Monday morning finally arrives. As the group of four waits for the class to arrive, Masami and Mizu finish up cleaning the outside of the building, making it look less like it's falling apart. Using a powerful wind gust, the Air demon dries off the walls by producing warm air. She eventually lands on the ground and looks at the dorm proud of her accomplishment.

"You know Masami, you didn't have to go that insane cleaning the place." Yukio says.

Rin adds in, "Yeah, I'm amazed Ukobach didn't try turning you into a turkey dinner after you cleaned up the kitchen the other night."

Masami responds, "I wanted to. I can only take messes for so long; I'm a very tidy demon…and Gehenna just was not a place for me in that regard. Always so messy! As for Ukobach, he was no contest when he did try to attack."

"What did you do?" Kenta asks.

"Keh, Ukoback is a _male_ demon, no? All I needed to do was threaten him with my talons." Masami answers raising a foot.

The guys aren't sure what to make of the avian as Seiya giggles until Kenta says, "I think my balls just retreated…"

A moment later, the class arrives. Although the dorm isn't the most impressive building on campus, they're amazed at how clean it looks. This makes Masami happy to the point she sparkles using small jolts of her electricity. Taking notice, the class is impressed with the avian Familiar, though Izumo only becomes more envious of her. The girl with the attitude then tells Shiemi to hold her bag. Although Paku quietly tells her she can say no, Shiemi happily argues that helping each other out is what friends are for, almost completely oblivious that Izumo is taking advantage of her.

Mizu waddles over to the group making dooking noises with a smile. Renzo remembers the little Familiar and happily pets him. Koneko gains an interest allowing the baby demon to smell his hand, to which Mizu happily licks him. Bon even squats down curious about the creature. Astonished that Seiya has two Familiars and not said a word about baby Mizu, having let him stay in the garden, Izumo coldly comments that Mizu is an ugly chimera-looking demon and walks away.

Before she could enter the dorm, Seiya stands in the way, arms crossed, and a smirk on her face. She then fires at her, "You know Izumo, the only 'ugly' thing I see around here…is you. Might wanna start thinking before you speak from now on."

Some of the guys try to keep themselves from chuckling till Izumo shoots them a nasty glare. Yukio simply stops any more of the confrontation by getting Seiya to move out of the way and let Izumo through. He then gives her a look as if saying not to do something like that again.

As the rest of the class is let into the dorm, unknown to them, the tricky headmaster was up on the roof in his dog form avoiding detection from Seiya's Aura Sight Ability.

Still snickering from Seiya's counter he says, "Oh Seiya, you are one tough woman, aren't you? I think I've hooked a very out of the ordinary fish, and I like how she bites."

As everyone settles into their rooms for the week, Masami decides to check on everyone to see how they're doing. Satisfied that everyone is comfortable with their rooms, the avian demon finds herself in the kitchen sitting down to a small bowl of cookie dough flavored ice cream with chopped up raspberries. A well-deserved treat after a few days of hard work, she thinks. As she digs in enjoying each creamy bite, Shiemi appears with Nii-chan on her head looking a bit hungry. She spots the Air Demon eating when Masami spots her. Using her wing, she grabs hold of a napkin and wipes her beak.

"Well if it isn't Little Shiemi and Baby Nii-chan." Masami greets with a friendly face. "What brings you two here?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to disturb you, Masami." Shiemi says.

"Hmph, you're not bothering me at all. Is there something you need?"

Hesitant at first, Shiemi nervously ask, "Would it be bad to talk about Izumo here?"

"I don't think so. Something on your mind?"

Shiemi sits down across from Masami and the avian summons a wind barrier in the doorway to keep others from hearing. Meanwhile, Yukio is talking with Seiya on the confrontation with Izumo earlier. All he tells her is to simply watch herself as the Exwire exams are very important. If she plans on becoming an Exwire, she'll have to try at least to be civil.

Later on, in the room Yukio prepared, everyone sat down to a test to which Kenta was struggling with the most. When the young instructor calls that time is up, the Takenaka Siblings flip their papers over and fall onto their backs defeated, Mizu cutely copying Seiya. Rin decides to leave to grab a snack and Kenta comes to life quickly following suit. Izumo leaves commenting on wanting to take a bath, followed by Paku and Shiemi. Seiya wanted to say something witty, but Yukio was already a step ahead shooting her a warning stare. Seiya decides to head up to the kitchen for a cooking lesson, and Mizu stays behind, climbing onto Renzo's lap.

Renzo tries to convince the other guys into mischief, wanting to spy on the girls. Although Yukio warns him that he is in the room as their instructor, the pink-haired boy tries to convince him otherwise, but he gets a rude awakening from Mizu as he shoots him with a jet of water.

Meanwhile on the rooftop of the dorm, Neuhaus is about to begin summoning a Familiar when he is confronted by Mephisto. The Exorcist gives him a look.

"What is it?" Neuhaus asks. "Didn't you want me to test them?"

Mephisto responds, "I'm just here to give you a fair warning."

"…I'm not to touch Ms. Takenaka, correct?"

"So then you know about her odd powers…"

"Word spreads like wildfire when it wants. But I have to ask, just what kind of power does she even have?"

"I'm not sure myself. But it's a lot more than it's letting on. Sure, her brother is a half-breed, but Seiya…I have a feeling she inherited a power she doesn't even know about."

"You do realize, Seiya has to be attacked whether direct or indirect, right? You can't go easy on her forever."

"…Hmph, I guess I'm just nervous after what happened the other day. That revival technique still has me baffled."

"She'll be fine."

"…{I hope so.}"

Back in the dorm, Izumo and Paku are in the women's bath with Shiemi off to get some milk for Izumo. When Rin tries confronting Shiemi about the fact that Izumo is only using her, she refuses to accept the fact at first, until she recalls her earlier conversation with Masami. The avian had explained to her that true friends don't have one acting like a slave for them. Masami told her that Izumo is only pretending to be friends with her, and that isn't true friendship. Sure, helping each other out is part of the deal, but not to that extent. The Air Demon then brings up what Seiya had told her, how Rin saved her that night from the flower demon. She ends the conversation telling Shiemi to really think about who her actual friends are.

Snapping Shiemi out of her deep thinking is screaming coming from the women's bath. Rin quickly tells her to get Yukio as he goes to rescue the two. Nearby Seiya appears with Masami, having heard the scream as she patrolled the halls. That's when Shiemi decides to not back down and follow suit with a strong desire to help.

In the women's bath, Paku had become injured from a ghoul and is suffering from burns. The ghoul that stands before Izumo and her Familiars has four arms, a lizard-like tail, and two heads. She wants to attack the demon, but something holds her back, and her Byakko sense the weakness in her heart. They turn on her and attack, but are kicked away by Rin. Seiya closes in, takes the magic circle sheets, and tears them up, making the foxes disappear.

"Izumo, you can't control your Familiars if you even have a tiny amount of doubt in you! Stay back and let us handle this!" Seiya says.

Masami notices Paku on the ground and says, "Young Master, that girl has horrible burns from the ghoul! I think we need Mizu in here!"

"Mizu's too far away right now! We have to take out the ghoul before those burns become worse!" Seiya responds. "Now hurry, Razor Wind!"

Masami focuses on the ghoul and flaps her wings viciously. Actual crescent-shaped blades appear from her wings and strike the demon, causing enough damage to make it fall on its back. Although Rin knows he can't draw his sword, he instead uses his sheathed blade to strike the demon with. Masami lands before Paku and gently sways her wings creating a cooling breeze to try and ease the girl's pain. Shiemi suddenly appears and tells Nii-chan she needs a certain herb. To her surprise, Nii-chan grows the herb needed out of his belly. She hurries over to Paku, and Masami rejoins the battle as Shiemi applies the herb.

Izumo can't register what's happening, unable to believe she can't save her only friend. She hides behind the lockers, wrapping her arms around her legs. The ghoul suddenly overwhelms Rin, stating he's only doing as his master instructs. Masami sends a shockwave through the demon and it redirects its attention on the avian. Unable to dodge in the small space, a few kunai suddenly fly into the right head of the ghoul. To Rin and Masami's surprise, Seiya had actually thrown them, holding a longer kunai blade in her right hand in a defensive posture.

"Seiya? Since when do you carry weapons?" Rin asks caught off guard.

The girl smiles responding, "Ever since Mr. Faust gave them to me a few days ago."

Rin gets a little annoyed saying, "Man, he loves treating you like a princess, doesn't he?"

"Rin look out!" Shiemi cries.

The ghoul goes to attack him, and just as Seiya closes in for the kill, gunshots are fired hitting the ghoul. The demon then retreats, disappearing through an open space above the showers. Behind Seiya is Yukio and the other guys having heard the commotion. Yukio asks if everyone is alright, and although Paku's the only one to become injured, Rin says that he couldn't have done it without Seiya and Shiemi. Even though Seiya tries to say that it was nothing, she still gets some credit and even praise for having controlled her Familiar effectively.

It's then Seiya realizes she isn't getting the kunai she through at the ghoul back which disappoints her; she'll have to obtain more of the daggers somehow. Rin looks around finding Izumo crying about being helpless to save Paku while Seiya and Shiemi were able to save her. The half-breed throws a purple shirt over her telling her to put it on. Seiya helps with Paku getting her onto Masami's back so she can be transported and treated in her room.

Meanwhile on the roof, Neuhaus is unable to believe that Seiya had acted finding the few kunai stuck in his Familiar's right head. Mephisto laughs at this, proud that the older Takenaka sibling put the weapons he gave her to good use. He becomes confident she'll become not just an Exwire but an effective Exorcist when the time comes. As Neuhaus struggles to remove the kunai from his Familiar's tough skin and bone, he throws something at Mephisto that even the headmaster didn't see coming.

He says, "What will you do when she discovers she won't need you to protect her anymore?"

"…Pardon?" Mephisto responds caught off guard.

"Seiya's finally learning to defend herself after five years of holding back. What if she finds she no longer needs you to protect her?"

"…Just what are you implying, Neuhaus?"

"You know full well what this will lead to. Because she kept her cool and didn't lose her edge, she could control her Familiar better than that other girl. She even used the weapons you gave her."

"Oh please, she isn't going to push me away. We have a nice tight bond, and I highly doubt her new confidence is going to break that in the least."

"But what if it does?"

"I can assure you it won't. The girl's attached to me."

"We'll see how long it lasts then."

"You know, I can fire you, right?"

Early the next morning, Seiya decides to get in some training in the forest. Kenta serves as her training partner while a tired Masami and a sleeping Mizu stay to the side, the avian familiar keeping an eye on the siblings. Although the older sibling has the shorter blade, she has her disadvantage in mind and continues to counter and faux-strike her brother. Despite the fact the younger sibling has the longer blade, he has trouble being able to faux-strike his sister, but does catch on to her patterns and learns to counter. The two eventually clash, and both blades go flying, falling onto the ground several feet away.

The siblings are amazed at all that they're equal, though Kenta still has a lot of countering to learn. Seiya, on the other hand, has to work on distancing herself from such close range; her brother has made more successful faux-strikes than she did. Both the siblings leave their training at a tie. Kenta collects the weapons and tags out with Masami; it's time for pyro training. The Air demon begins whipping strong gusts at her, and Seiya removes her gloves, the flames building instantly. She fires two fireballs to which the Familiar counters, telling Seiya to do better. She fires her attack again, but the fireballs are canceled out once more.

Seiya then goes for her fire stream attack she has now called Nova Flare, and the flames not only surround Masami, but actually form a funnel so she is unharmed. The avian stops the gusts and lands. She gives her master a sunny look, meaning she's learned to control one of her attacks. Seiya becomes excited until Masami tells her to do it again, saying she must practice it as much as possible or she will not master it entirely. The girl nods and sends the fire stream towards her Familiar again; same result. Once more, Masami gives her a sunny and proud look.

"Young Master," Masami starts with a gentle tone, "you do know what this means, correct?"

Seiya replies excitedly, "It means I'm one step closer to being an effective Exorcist, right?"

"…Well, you'd be half right." the Familiar responds. "Young Master, the reason you are able to create such a funnel-effect is from the fact I trust you highly."

"You…trust me?" Seiya asks a bit lost.

Masami explains, "If I didn't trust you, that attack would've injured me to the point I would not be able to be summoned for a month. The reason I have you attack me while I provide obstacles is not only to make you stronger, but it's really a trust exercise deep down. I also have a lot of faith in you, something no demon would ever say. I trust you enough to not harm me when you attack. Do you have trust in me, Young Master?"

Seiya responds in awe, "Well, yeah, of course I trust you."

Masami smiles saying, "And trust is what makes Tamers very reliable in battle. As long as the Tamer and the Familiar trust each other, there is nothing they cannot bring down."

Kenta growls and yells, "Dammit all, I want a Familiar!"

Masami gives him a look and says, "…Your greed is bad fuel for a Familiar."

"WHAT?!" Kenta shouts.

Seiya chuckles them remembers, "Oh, that's right! I told one of the other Exorcists I'd meet him in front of the dorm so he could supply me with more kunai."

"Hurry then. The sun is rising quickly." Masami says.

At the front of the dorm, an Exorcist waits with a supply of kunai. Growing impatient, he is about to leave when Seiya finally arrives. She pays for the new supply and the Exorcist leaves. Happy about her new exploits, Seiya decides to call Mephisto and tell him, too excited to wait for a better time. Oddly enough she only gets the voicemail.

"Well this is odd. It almost never goes to voicemail like that. Either his phone's off or the battery died."

She then hears a bark. Behind her stands the king of time in his dog form. He approaches her and she sits down with a grin on her face. For Mephisto, he tries to ignore what Neuhaus said to him last night. But those thoughts eat away at him.

Kenta and the two Familiars arrive at the bridge, but keep a distance to avoid detection. The younger sibling looks on with a glare, suspicious of the tricky headmaster.

Seiya starts, "I've got some great news, Mephisto! I aided Rin in battle last night against a ghoul! It escaped, but I managed to attack like it was nothing!"

Mephisto tries to sound proud, "That's great, Seiya. But, there's something I want to ask you…"

"Oh? What is it?"

"I was informed of the ghoul attack and learned you fought bravely. One of the other Exorcists and I got into a small argument, and I need to know something. Because you're learning to defend yourself and battle effectively, you're not going to let me stop protecting you, right?"

"Let you stop protecting me? You're asking if I'd leave you or something?"

"Basically."

"That's a really dumb thought. That Exorcist is obviously an idiot. I can't cast you aside like some ragdoll, not after what we've been through. That includes all you've done for me and my brother."

"So, you…?"

"Mephisto, aside from the friends I've made here, and despite having two Familiars and my brother, I'm still choosing to count on you to protect me. Turning on you now would be the ultimate stab in the back."

"…Glad to hear it."

"I still owe you a lot, even more than loyalty."

"{I think it goes much further than just loyalty, Seiya. But I'll let you figure it out.} So, what other good news do you have for me?"


	9. Crashing Star, Strong Bamboo

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 9:  
Crashing Star, Strong Bamboo**

That day in Cram School, a female Exorcist is teaching the class on Aria, having assigned to memorize a passage to recite in class. She calls on Izumo first who is distracted. At first Izumo appears to have memorized the passage, but she falls short and can't fully recall it. Kenta tries next practically jumping out of his seat, but accidentally recites the Green Lantern Oath. Embarrassed he slowly sits back down before slamming his head on the table. Seiya is next to attempt, and although she is able to recite most of it, the girl suddenly draws a blank; she knows now that having any potential for being an Aria has been destroyed. Memory like that was neither of the sibling's forte.

When Bon is called on, he recites the entire passage, with Rin, Shiemi, and the Takenaka Siblings staring at him in awe. Kenta, however, becomes jealous and nonchalantly tosses his book. With the bell sounding, Bon is praised for his intelligence, until Izumo starts up stating that anyone can memorize. The Takenaka Siblings facepalm, Seiya laying her head on the table covering it with a book, and Kenta sinking in his seat with a groan. Bon responds with a comeback that Izumo couldn't memorize four sentences, but she comes back stating she chose not to memorize them. She keeps it up stating how Arias are defenseless and need their party to protect them, calling them a burden.

Bon, taking it as an insult as he wants to be an Aria, gets up as Izumo comes forth ready for a confrontation, continuing to coldly insult him. As it evolves to stomping on people's dreams, Seiya decides to throw a kunai between them, the small dagger bouncing off the chalkboard. Everyone directs their attention to the black-haired girl who is now standing up with a stern look on her face.

"Look you two, this is plenty! We all have reasons why we're here, whether it's just to become an Exorcist, or because we all want a piece of Satan. Stomping on other's dreams without knowing what's going through their minds makes you less of an Exorcist and more of a demon." Seiya fires.

Astonished at her words at first, Bon calms down and agrees, "You know Seiya, you have a point."

"That's a lot of talk coming from someone who fakes fangs." Izumo snaps back. "And they look so real; did the Director let you go off campus to get them at a special shop?"

That comment makes Seiya remember the battle between Amaimon and Mephisto. She gained fangs from absorbing some of his energy as a result. Having lost it, Seiya jumps over Rin and Shiemi, landing in front of Izumo.

She grabs her by the scruff and yells, "Don't you DARE bring up these fangs! Not only are they real, I didn't exactly ask for them to suddenly appear! I don't even know how they got there in the first place!"

Izumo responds with her snarky attitude, "Then why not get them removed? Oh, but then you'd look like a hockey player, wouldn't you?"

Sensing the rage building, Bon tries to intervene, until he notices small bits of white flame appearing on her gloves. Seiya shouts as she's about to attack, "Not before I reveal just how ugly you really are!"

She reels back for a punch, but her fist is caught by Bon. Seiya is caught off-guard as Rin gets her to let go, jumping in between them. Kenta does the same, trying to get his sister to move back. It's then Seiya realizes what she was about to do, and lowers her head feeling great shame. She turns around trying to hide her face when Yukio walks into the room. He can tell something has occurred, and isn't happy with what he sees. Before he can say a word, Seiya quickly walks out of the room, telling him she'll be in the forest as she passes by.

A couple hours later, Seiya has worked out most of her anger in the forest alone. During the time alone, however, she holds her right arm having pulled a muscle or two. The girl makes her way to the dorm, but out in front stands Bon. He asks her to take a walk with him away from the dorm. Unable to argue her hurt arm, she follows. Yukio watches from the window.

"{Bon told me of her nearly losing control in class…but the fact her white flames starting bypassing her gloves…something tells me Kenta is not the one to keep a close eye on. I should talk to Sir Pheles.}"

Meanwhile in the middle of an empty walkway, Bon and Seiya sit on a bench, the girl rubbing her arm.

"Seiya," Bon begins, "I don't think you realize, but your hands were catching fire."

Seiya responds, a chill going down her spine, "W-what?!"

"There were white flames on your hands earlier, when Izumo was really pressing you." He looks at her, "They may not be blue flames, but I want to know what's really going on."

"I-I can't tell you! It's a huge secret!"

"Seiya, I'll keep quiet about it. I know you're not a demon, so I won't say anything."

"…Damn…I didn't think these things would start to fail me already…"

"They're a seal?"

"Of sorts. You see…"

As Seiya explains what occurred five years ago, Bon learns of Kenta being a half demon, and her strange powers. Despite the fact he knows of what Kenta is, he has a better understanding of the siblings. To make her feel better, he explains his origins, how he grew up in what's considered a "cursed temple". She begins to understand him better as well, knowing she isn't the only human with a bad past. But then he begins to think; her flames won't harm humans, but they hurt demons.

"Hey Seiya, would you be offended if I wanted to see if I can find anything on your powers?" Bon asks.

"No, I wanna know more about these cursed flames! But you need to keep your end of the deal up!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. C'mon, we better head back to the dorm."

"Yeah…"

That night, Yukio punishes the class by having them keep low-level rock-like demons with creepy expressions that look like they're in pain or screaming sit on their laps. With each passing moment, the demons become heavier. Seiya faints sitting up, unable to take the pressure for long with the top half of her face blue and her eyes in swirls. Her brother becomes unsure if she can even become an Exorcist now.

Yukio informs the group that he'll be away for three hours on a mission. Until he returns, he wants everyone to stay put; he also adds in putting up barriers so that similar demons like the ghoul don't return. Izumo and Bon start bickering again, but Yukio quiets them down, raising his voice. He states that Exorcists never work alone, as basic procedure states Exorcists always work in groups of two or more. The two look away as Yukio continues that they all need to get along and learn to work together as a team. With the class silent, he leaves the room, saying once more he'll be back in three hours.

Bon questions Rin on if the two brothers really are related, to which Rin tries to say that Yukio is a nice guy. On another note, the punkish teen then restarts the argument from earlier, stating that this is all happening because of "a certain someone". Getting snarky once more and agitating Rin as he is in the middle, the two go back and forth once again before Bon silences her saying that she'd scare people away with her attitude.

At that point the power suddenly goes out. Everyone pushes the rock demons off, which revives Seiya. The group wonders if the power is out elsewhere, until they spot other lights still on from outside, and in other buildings. Seiya clutches her brother, not liking the sudden darkness as Renzo decides to take a look around. When he opens the door, the ghoul from before is there, and he closes the door like it's nothing, thinking he's seeing things until its bursts through. The pink-haired boy retreats to the group with the ghoul now in the room. Seiya immediately summons Masami, who appears in front of her.

"Oh great, it's this thing again?" Masami says not impressed before she turns to her master. "Seiya, we need to be careful this time; my wind attacks could destroy this place."

"In that case, it's my time to shine!" Kenta says pulling out from his sword case a collapsible, customized M40 sniper rifle that has been made to look like bamboo.

Bon asks, "Whoa, when'd you get that thing?"

Kenta replies, "My friend Hayato gave it to me. If I'm gonna be a Dragoon, I'll need a gun. I failed with handguns, but with snipers, I'm practically an expert."

At that moment the second head, which is held together with stitches, bursts open splashing miasma everywhere. This head now looks like a mutated flower with a long tongue that has a hand at the end of it. Shiemi asks Nii-chan for a certain plant, and out of his belly sprouts thick branch-like vines. One vine stabs the ghoul in the chest right where the stitching is, and continues to grow till half the room in filled. Kenta takes his sniper, aims, and begins shooting the demon. He watches through the scope as it splits in two.

As the ghoul halves grow new halves, the flower-headed one begins to try and break its way through. Seiya commands Masami to use an electric attack, but because the vines are so thick, the electricity won't reach. Kenta asks Masami to shock his sniper instead. Hesitant at first, the Air Demon does as asked and Kenta fires away. Because the bullets are made of a metallic-like substance, the bullet is able to carry the electricity and this zaps the ghouls.

The siblings celebrate a little too soon, as the miasma takes its toll on Shiemi, causing her to fall to her knees. Everyone but Rin, Kenta, Seiya, and Masami are affected. Izumo questions why the three of them aren't affected, not asking Masami because she's already a demon, making her immune to it. The avian reveals that while the poison is weak to stronger demons, it'll easily affect humans and weaker demons that can't handle poison. She's done things in Gehenna that eventually made her immune to most miasma over the years.

Rin can't reach Yukio on his phone, and Bon worries about Shiemi's strength running out; if it does, the barricade will fall. With no other options left, Rin makes the bold choice to lure one of the halves away. Seiya decides to go too, telling Masami to stick with the group and aid them with her power. Although the avian expresses her worries, her master tells her not to worry; she and Rin will work as a team, like real Exorcists. The two then start climbing through the barricade with Rin taking the lead. Seiya lets him get the ghouls' attention, and the free flower-headed one gives chase into the halls. Seiya goes immediately after him, already throwing one of her kunai, the dagger sinking into its lower back, slowing it down.

Rin calls, "Seiya! I think all that's wrong is the power switch may just be off! Do you think you can keep it busy while I take a look?"

Seiya isn't sure how to respond, "…{All…by myself? No, don't start doubting, or Masami could turn!} Okay! But I'll need to backtrack to find Mizu!"

"Mizu's fine! Last I saw, Shiemi brought him to the garden!"

"…Then I'll give it my all, Rin! But you hurry and flip the switch if that's really the issue! Like Bon said, these ghouls work better in the dark!"

"Then let's do this, Seiya! I believe in you!"

"{He…believes in me…} BOOYAH!"

Back in the room, the other half has come to life, and Bon and Koneko chant Fatal Versus to try and weaken or kill it. Renzo stands at the ready with his staff. Izumo at this point is more than hesitant about the situation. Shiemi slowly runs out of strength trying her best to keep up the barricade. With Bon and Koneko chanting, Kenta stands in front of Izumo with Masami on his shoulders, sharing her electricity by fusing it with his gun. He continues to fire at the ghoul, slowing it down, replacing the barrel every so often. Masami suddenly senses something is off, but can't focus on what it is; her focus is on aiding Kenta.

In the basement, Rin has found the switchboard. Just as he's about to turn it back on, Seiya comes flying through the door and right into him. He reacts fast enough to catch her, sliding back several feet. He quickly finds the ghoul has just about bathed her in its poison, and it's finally taking effect. She weakly opens her eyes and looks up at Rin with tears in her eyes.

She says losing strength, "I'm sorry, Rin…I failed to keep it busy…here, t-take my blade….ngh…."

"SEIYA!" Rin shouts as she goes limp.

Seiya isn't dead yet, but is weakening from the poison rapidly. The ghoul enters the basement, its focus now entirely on Rin. He decides to take her kunai blade and goes for the attack, but the ghoul proves itself a problem by ferociously attacking him. He can't get close or land a single blow, so he tries to run instead. However, using its tongue, the ghoul grabs his leg and throws him into the pit below, causing him to let go of the kunai blade. It also tosses Seiya in as well, clearly not done with her. However, Rin counters it, getting in front of Seiya and fending it off with his blue flames. The demon avoids the move, jumping to the other end of the pit.

However, an unexpected guest speaks, talking about wanting to see the flames, stating Rin obviously can't use them in front of the others. The guest, is Neuhaus. Seiya opens her eyes and struggles to look up at the one behind it all.

"{Th-that guy…wasn't he…the one who taught us about Taming? Why is he…attacking us? If this is a test…then how come no one else is bathed in poison like me? Ugh…Masami…please…keep fighting…}" she thinks before passing out again.

Rin takes notice, "{Seiya! Grr, I need to think quickly! She's in more trouble than the others are! Now that I think of it…oh jeez, I hope the others aren't bathed in poison like she is!}"

Luckily for him, that thought is false; Koneko has finished reciting chapters one through ten without any luck on finding the ghoul's fatal verse. Bon continues to recite the remaining chapters, just nearing the end. Kenta has run out of bullets, which means he cannot slow the demon down any longer. Masami takes it from there and aids Renzo in keeping the demon back, zapping it with all she has when it tries to get the rest of the way through. Unfortunately, they start running out of time as Shiemi loses the rest of her strength and falls. The barricade disappears. Renzo goes from there and attacks with his staff while Masami can unleash her full power against it, blowing strong gusts at it with varying temperatures to make it feel ill and potentially keep it in place, zapping it relentlessly.

Kenta abandons his sniper and pulls out his sword going for the offensive. However, the ghoul proves to be a fairly quick healer in the dark. When Izumo checks on Shiemi, it is she who asks if Izumo is alright, as she wasn't herself. That's when the snarky girl gets the courage to summon her Familiars and aid the others in battle. The Byakko appear, growling at her for summoning them again. However, she shows she's snapped out of her trance, and has them attack the ghoul. Masami, Renzo, and Kenta back off, but within a few seconds, the ghoul overwhelms the foxes, causing Kenta and Masami to continue their assault.

Back in the basement, Rin realizes that it was Neuhaus behind the attack yesterday, to which he confesses. He wants to see the son of Satan's power, but is disappointed at Seiya for letting herself fall into such a state. Rin, now able to unleash his rage, avoids the ghoul's attack by jumping in the air. He slams back down, stabbing it in the head with his sword, and surrounding it in fire, burning it alive. Neuhaus leaves the scene in the middle of it all, and gets away when Rin tries looking for him. He hears Seiya moaning from the pain, and hurries to her.

"Seiya, just hold on!" he says.

She weakly argues, "Rin, don't waste time. Ngh…turn the power on! The others are still dealing with…gah…t-the remaining half!"

Back in the room, they're just about out of time. Masami has been thrown to the wall, Kenta squashed, and Renzo bypassed. The remaining are defenseless as Bon boldly continues his chant, desperately trying to locate the right verse as the demon grabs him by the head and lifts him in the air. At that second, the lights return, thanks to Rin. The ghoul cannot take the light, trying to block its eyes. It goes to attack Bon, but he finds the right verse, with it being the very last one, and the ghoul finally dies. Bon drops to the floor, now going into a panic attack. Although everyone is glad the threat is over, they wonder where Rin and Seiya are.

Masami's eyes widen in terror; she can sense Seiya's life force fading fast. When Renzo looks over, he sees the expression on the avian's face. He looks over at Shiemi who was helped up by Izumo, and quickly asks if she has enough strength to have her Familiar sprout anything. She responds she might have something left asking why, and Masami replies that Seiya has been heavily poisoned. The group is now worried sick.

In the halls, Rin carries Seiya in his arms, rushing her back to the room. He has tried clearing her of the miasma, to which he had little choice but her remove some of her clothes, leaving her with the red sleeveless top and the white skirt; while the top wasn't touched, everything else was saturated, but he managed to save the skirt. Although Rin was able to try and remove most of it from her skin, she has already absorbed too much and needs immediate attention. Just outside the room, Bon takes the lead, but stops in his tracks seeing Rin coming. He pushes everyone back in so Rin can hurry through the door. Kenta flips a lid wondering where her clothes went until Rin shuts him up saying he tried to clear her of the poison the ghoul soaked her in.

Shiemi crawls over as Rin lays Seiya in the ground, resting her head on his lap. She is lucky to be alive, just barely breathing with a weak pulse. Masami scrambles over to her, creating a gentle breeze of cool air to help her breathe. Shiemi not only doesn't have the strength to aid any further, but the poison has worked its way through most of her system already; there isn't a thing she can do.

That's when Yukio enters the room with Neuhaus, the guy acting as if nothing happened. Yukio sees the condition Seiya is in and hurries to her. Indeed the poison has worked its way through her system, but he has an antidote that'll have to be administered a few more times throughout the night before it's completely gone. Rin can't help but glare at Neuhaus after what happened.

Kenta asks worried, "Yukio, will she be okay? Tell me she'll live!"

Yukio sighs answering, "The miasma circulating through her is heavy, but it's weak. The antidote I'm giving her will take out the poison, but there's too much for one dose and her system to handle. I'll stay with her throughout the night and continue her treatment with IV bags. She's very critical right now…her survival, is all on her tonight."

Masami looks at her, tears building up, "…Oh, Young Master…{But that man Rin is glaring at…if he is indeed the one that hurt her, I'll kill him myself!}"

Suddenly, someone comes in through the ceiling, kicking Kenta in the back of his head and sending him flying into the wall. It is Mephisto, at first with a smirk, but once his eyes drift to Seiya, his heart sinks. The headmaster calls out the other instructors hiding in the walls, telling any of them that are doctors to treat the injured as he rushes to Seiya. Rin fills him in on what happened, and the king of time can't even bring himself to say what he wanted to. He's dead set on Seiya. Yukio tells him he'll stay with Seiya throughout the night as she'll need continued treatment. Mephisto agrees and tells the group he'll fill them in on everything tomorrow, leaving them confused.

That night, while the group is being treated in another room, Yukio lays in the opposite bed of Seiya's room, an alarm clock at the ready so he may change the IV bags; for this, they must be given slowly enough, or it'll send her into shock. Kenta sleeps on the floor having made a bed of several blankets. Unknown to them, the door opens and closes ever so quietly. Something climbs into Seiya's bed, placing itself under her arm. She wakes up and looks over, finding a worried Mephisto in his dog form.

She weakly speaks, "Me…phis…to?"

He looks over startled asking, "Oh my, I woke you? Just go back to sleep, Seiya…you need it."

She smiles at him, "I'm glad you came, actually. Even with this plushie, I'm scared…"

"There's no need to be anymore." Mephisto says laying his head next to hers. "I'm right here…and I'll protect you."

"…Thank you..."


	10. The Bamboo Blooms

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 10:  
The Bamboo Blooms**

"I don't like how far you took it, Neuhaus. Not only is Seiya my student, she is also my friend. You could've easily killed her because she was so far from the other Instructors." Yukio calmly states, clearly not happy about what occurred.

Neuhaus responds with no change in his expression or tone of voice, "That exam was to test all their abilities—"

Mephisto slams his fist on his desk and shouts, "At this point, I really do not care! I specifically told you not to make her your own personal target! She was far from any actual help and could've died!"

It's the next day, and already Neuhaus is under heavy fire in Mephisto's office. Seiya has recovered from her poisoning. Rin removing most of the saturated clothes actually aided in saving her life. The treatment Yukio administered throughout the night took care of all the poison in her body, but left her with a nasty fever; she is not to leave the dorm without an escort until she's better. Kenta stays with her in her room as she sleeps with a worried Mizu in her arms. The rest of the class makes sure she doesn't strain herself either.

Neuhaus responds, "Last I checked, I was told to test Rin and the Takenaka Siblings."

"But the point is, you went too far with that miasma! You're lucky the treatment worked or I would've come after you and taken care of you personally." Yukio threatens, ignoring his better nature.

"Tch, it's almost like you two are in love with her or something with the way you two speak." Neuhaus says.

"Grr, that's because she is my gir-" Mephisto goes to say but stops himself at the last second, "…uh, th-that is…"

Yukio looks at him in near disbelief. Sure, he's had the siblings on campus for the last five years, but to think their bond has been building this much so quickly in the past few weeks.

Neuhaus chuckles with a smirk, "You really are something. You're seriously in love with that weakling?"

Yukio fires a warning shot just grazing Neuhaus's hair. "With what they've been through, it shouldn't be that hard to see. Sir Pheles has always been protective of her ever since he brought those two here."

Mephisto stands a bit stunned himself. "{Wait…is it possible? Have I really…fallen for Seiya?}"

"Let me ask you something. Have you ever felt something whenever you think about Seiya or stand next to her?" Neuhaus questions.

"…Now that I think about it…" Mephisto tries to say still mystified.

Neuhaus goes on, "Do butterflies fill your stomach? Does your heart race? Does it almost feel natural, meaning you're never nervous around her? Do you just want to hold her in your arms and never let go?"

Mephisto looks at him answering, "…Y-yes…b-but how do you-"

"I was there once. I did have a woman in my life." Neuhaus answers.

Yukio, a bit in awe, snaps out of it demanding, "Then if you actually understand what's going on, why nearly kill Seiya? It's not like she's out of control."

Neuhaus looks at him and coldly answers, "Spawns shouldn't spawn."

Near noon time, Seiya has been supported to sit up, her fever still high. With Masami resting elsewhere to heal her own injuries, she can't summon her back to help out with cool breezes, so a cool cloth rests on her head. Ukobach took care in making her an easy udon to eat, and is being fed by Shiemi; the girl is so weak she can barely sit up on her own. The others are worried if the fever will ever break; it's been high since the poison broke around three in the morning.

Kenta, unable to deal with his own emotions, is unable to finish his lunch. He promptly leaves his sister's room in order to blow off steam elsewhere. Mizu flops to the floor trying to follow the boy, but Kenta has stormed away. Renzo picks up the baby Familiar, telling him to stay close to everyone.

Storming around outside the dorm, Kenta thinks of what Rin told everyone last night. Out of blind anger, he kicks a lamppost, effectively knocking it over. He doesn't even think of the fact he just destroyed something on school grounds, and drops to the ground. Beginning to shed tears from all the stress, he is unaware that Yukio and Mephisto have arrived to check on his sister.

Yukio lightly taps his shoulder asking, "Kenta, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Kenta replies, his voice cracking, "No. It's just….I can't stand the thought of my sister being like this. She's completely helpless, and it's all that goddamn Exorcist's fault!"

He slams his fist in the ground, creating a small crater as a result. Both Yukio and Mephisto are taken aback by his raw strength. Yukio kneels down placing his hand on Kenta's shoulder and says with optimism in his voice, "Kenta, take it easy. It isn't like she's taken a turn for the worse yet. Your sister is a strong girl, remember that. She'll pull through."

Kenta argues looking at his instructor, "But what if she doesn't? I can't lose her! She's all I have!"

Mephisto then drapes his cape over the upset boy and says, "I can feel your pain, Kenta. Last thing I want is for anyone to be hurt, especially your sister. Neuhaus indeed crossed the line, but I will see to it he never goes near her again."

Kenta tosses the cape aside, standing up. "Don't come to me like you understand, you damn pervert."

"Ngh, Kenta!" Yukio tries to correct.

"No! I see the way he's always watching her." Kenta says looking at the tall demon. "You keep far away from her, or I'll rip out your still-beating heart and shove it down your throat!"

With that, Kenta walks away. That kind of threat would easily get him booted out of the academy altogether, but for the sake of Seiya, Mephisto can't make a move. Knowing trying to reason with the angered boy is futile, the two continue to the dorm.

In Seiya's room, although unable to finish the udon, Seiya has fallen asleep, the fever having full control. Yukio finds it's still dangerously high; no common fever-reducer will work at this rate. He asks Shiemi if she has anything stronger, though she responds she actually tried what the garden had to offer. It seems this fever is too strong. Yukio can only conclude that it's her body's way of fighting off any remaining toxin despite the treatment. Everyone else appears saddened by the news, wondering if she'll pull through at all.

Aside from all this, Mephisto explains to the class that the "attack" yesterday was the actual Exwire Authorization Exam. It was to test everyone's abilities and see how they functioned as a team. They start to dread about the results, but Seiya's condition is the only thing on their mind.

Koneko asks, "I know you said that the exam was a way to test us, but…what if Seiya doesn't wake up?"

Bon says, "Yeah, it would suck if she doesn't get to be an Exwire…"

Izumo says looking away from everyone, "If she doesn't pass, we're down a strong member of the group."

Bon looks at her with a look asking, "Are you running a fever too?"

"I have a feeling regardless of her condition, she'll pass. You all saw how she acted, right?" Yukio speaks. "Even in the face of danger, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure the enemy is brought down, even if it means her life."

"In that case, we need to do our own parts to make her better faster!" Renzo says breaking the tension. "Am I right you guys?"

Mizu happily jumps around agreeing with the pink haired boy.

"Hey guys, where did Rin go? Anyone notice he hasn't been here for a little bit?" Koneko asks.

Somewhere within the grounds, Rin is on a mission to seek out Neuhaus. He wants revenge for the condition he put Seiya in. Instead though, he encounters an upset Kenta, who hasn't been able to think straight. He tries to approach him, but the blonde-haired boy avoids Rin and continues on his own path. Seeing the pained look on his face, Rin starts to think perhaps what he's doing won't help anybody, even Seiya. He gets a different idea, remembering something Shiro had made for him when he had a high fever as a kid. With the idea in mind, he runs back to the dorm.

Kenta continues to storm around the campus, coming upon the golden gates at the front. He looks at them, thinking of walking outside them. However, something hits him in the back of the head. He turns around and sees a girl standing there with a Familiar that looks like a Hellhound; it has blue prayer beads around its neck, glaring red eyes, black fur with white and grey cheetah-like spots, the tail in the shape of a sickle, and finally a scar on its forehead in the shape of two crescent moons back-to-back. The dog looks to be a Saluki-like breed.

The girl does not dress in the school uniform, but instead wears a black-collared shirt with a purple knit vest over it with a red scarf around her neck, white jeans and black boots. In her wavy brown hair done up in a wide ponytail rests a silver skull clip and a two-tone rose clip together on the left side of her head. Her amber eyes looked at Kenta like he was the next playtoy. The girl stands around 5'03".

Kenta demands, "The hell do you want, kid?"

The girl responds with a wicked smile, "Oh be careful who you call a kid, child! I am Emi Ito, an Exwire and soon-to-be Aria and Tamer Meister~. As you can see, this is my Familiar, Gazeru. He may look pretty, but he's very fearsome."

"Tch, I don't care who you are, just go away." Kenta growls.

Gazeru, revealing his deep voice, asks, "You seem like you're in a lot of pain. Mind sharing your thoughts?"

"Yeah, it's always best to talk about bad things with others." Emi agrees.

"Unless you got a cure for a stubborn fever, piss off." Kenta responds.

"A stubborn fever?" Gazeru asks. "Is someone you know sick? I could try lowering it; I am a Fire Demon after all."

Emi says, "Yeah I recall having a bad fever once. It wouldn't break for three days. Somehow I managed to befriend Gazeru, and he practically cured it. He's been my ally in battle ever since."

"…You know…" Kenta starts, "You sound a lot younger than you look."

"Pfft, bitch please, I'm 15. I'm just insane." Emi answers with a big grin.

"It's true…" Gazeru says with a look, "She really is out of her mind."

At the dorm, Rin brings up the idea of the tea Shiro made for him years ago when he had a bad fever. Although Yukio agrees it did work on him, it may not work on Seiya, as nothing else has. Stubborn as always, Rin decides to make the tea anyway; even if it doesn't work, at least he's trying to do something. The others obtained a bowl and filled it with water and ice in order to keep the cloth cool. Using Nii-chan's ability to sprout plants, Shiemi has placed an herb that reduces fevers under the cool cloth, hoping it will be absorbed through the skin. Aside from that, there isn't much else that can be done.

Sometime later, Rin returns with the tea in hand, but the girls are gone, along with Mephisto. Yukio reveals that Seiya had woken up and wanted to soak in a cool bath to try and lower her fever. Rin places the cup on the desk saying it needs time to cool off anyway, stating if it does cool down too much, it can always be heated back up. He then asks why Mephisto went along with the girls. Bon tells him that the headmaster wanted to be around in case anything happens, even if he's outside the women's bath.

A little bit later, the girls and Mephisto returns with Seiya feeling better, but still too weak to walk on her own, so the king of time carries her to make things easier. They find that the boys had changed her bed sheets to something lighter figuring it would keep her a little cooler. Seiya is grateful, saying they didn't have to do it, although Bon argues they're going nuts unable to do anything but wait and see. Rin comments that Seiya's skin looks less purple, as it had a tint from the miasma.

As Mephisto places her in bed, Kenta returns with Emi and her Familiar, saying he found someone that can help. The tricky headmaster recognizes Emi, quickly asking how her classes were going. Before she can answer, Kenta interrupts wanting Gazeru to rid his sister of her fever. A little bit insulted, Rin hides this mentioning he made her tea that should help reduce the fever. Gazeru, curious enough, takes a look at the ailing girl anyway. Mizu growls at the Fire Demon.

Placing a paw on her forehead, Gazero focuses saying, "Ah I see…this was caused by miasma, absorbed through the skin. Hmm, it is weak, but the effects remain. Yes, this is a problem. Though, there isn't much I can do either; it wasn't naturally caused by bacteria or a virus."

"Huh?! Are you saying you can't do anything?!" Kenta flips.

Gazeru looks at him, "The best I can do is reduce it to a more manageable point. But the rest is highly dependent on your sister's immune system from here. I can sense it kicking into overdrive trying to get rid of the remaining toxin. I highly suggest a small dose of any antidotes and anything that can boost the immune system; she's going to need it if she plans on a full recovery."

Handing her the tea, Rin asks, "What if we continue doing what we are now?"

"The poison may be weak, but sometimes the toxin finds ways of staying within the body; it's a common trait from a Naberius Miasma; I've seen plenty of it in Gehenna." Gazeru responds. "If you continue your current treatment, she'll be riding a roller coaster for another five days. These toxins are incredibly stubborn."

Renzo smiles picking up Mizu, "Well then, getting her things to boost the immune system shouldn't be hard."

Shiemi responds, "I've got plenty of herbs in the garden that I can put together! I'll head over there right now!"

Seiya says, "Damn, I'm starting to feel like a lab rat…"

That night, everyone is relieved that the tea Rin made and the immune boosting mixture Shiemi created have broken Seiya's fever at last. Gazeru thinks she should be fine by morning, but still has to take it easy in case of any relapses; her body still has a lot of healing to do. In their own rooms, everyone is able to sleep with cleared minds.

However, trouble has found its way to the dorm. Earlier on, Yukio had encountered Neuhaus roaming one of the halls, telling him he shouldn't be anywhere on the campus after what he said this morning. Although Neuhaus stated he was only following orders, he said he wasn't really going to kill either Seiya or Rin. That statement had the younger Okumura Twin worried. Thinking ahead, he has Seiya and Rin moved into another room with both the beds on Seiya's room fixed; Rin wanted to remain with Seiya since Kenta passed out in his own room.

Neuhaus, having made his way into Seiya's room, approaches her bed with a large version of a drafting compass. He lifts it up in the air, the sharp pin aiming at her, and stabs what he thinks is her, but quickly realizes there isn't a body under the sheets. Moving them out of the way, he finds a rolled up sleeping bag. A click is heard from behind, with Yukio holding a cocked gun up to the back of his head.

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill Seiya or Rin, Mr. Neuhaus." Yukio says.

"Very clever, Yukio." Neuhaus responds.

In an empty room, Shiemi wakes up Rin. His freaking out of her "being in his room" disturbs Seiya who is too groggy to care what's going on. That is, until they hear gunfire. In one of the staircases, Yukio chases Neuhaus to the rooftop. Once there, Yukio tries demanding why the crazed Exorcist wants to kill the two so badly. The man responds with blood dripping down his magic circle tattooed arm - the sleeve now missing from his jacket – and several Naberius arms fly out towards Yukio. He does his best to shoot each one, until a few arms manage to slip by. They grab his legs and arms and drag him along the rooftop until he unleashes a can of holy water, going into a high speed roll.

When he gets up, he sees Neuhaus has quickly drawn a complicated magic circle. The crazed Exorcist says Yukio is too slow, and cutting open his arm more with the large math tool, drops blood onto the circle. A large, glob-like Naberius is summoned. Similar to the twin-headed ghoul, its head is a bulky flower-shape similar to a cartoonish daisy, the middle part containing the mouth, but no eyes. Underneath the "petals" hangs several arms. It even sports a tail ending in an arrowhead shape. Yukio knows if he can destroy the circle, the ghoul will disappear. Backed into a corner, he tries shooting it. However, this backfires as the spot he shoots grows an arm, grabs him, and throws him into the ledge wall.

Knocked unconscious, the Naberius closes in until Kurikara is thrust into it, surrounding it in blue fire. Although it doesn't die like the first ghoul, Rin jumps high into the air aiming for Neuhaus. The crazed Exorcist counters by unleashing a can of holy water, causing Rin to jump back.

Neuhaus states, "Even on you, holy water works due to your true nature as a demon."

"Holy water huh?" Rin responds. "As if!"

Rin runs to him ready to attack, but the Naberius grabs him in one hand, and using its other to grab his head, begins to apply pressure in an attempt to crush him. Unbeknownst to the three of them, white flames surround them, however, it only damages the ghoul. Looking over to the door, they find Seiya on Masami's back.

Rin says, "Seiya? I told you to stay behind!"

"Keh, yeah right! And miss the party going on up here? All that's missing is a DJ and strobe lights." Seiya responds.

Masami adds in, "Neuhaus, you may have taught these kids how to summon, but I don't think you've realized any of their true potential. Behold our hours spent training!"

Both Masami and Seiya say at the same time, "This is our true power! WHITE LIGHTNING!"

Seiya surrounds them in an orb of fire as Masami charges up her electricity. Within seconds, the avian unleashes their combined powers onto the ghoul. Although proving its stamina to be great, even this Naberius can't hold up to their combined strength. However, it breaks out of the attack and is about to counter, when it suddenly disappears, dropping Rin. Yukio has recovered enough to erase part of the circle in order to cancel the summon.

Neuhaus goes on the offensive, but finds the Demon Slaying Sword at his throat. Masami hovers above, with Seiya giving a confident smirk, letting him know there is no escape. Yukio then mentions that if Neuhaus summons another ghoul, he could potentially die of bloodloss. Rin demands to know just who Neuhaus is, to which he replies he is a survivor of the Blue Night. Rin recalls what Koneko had told him a while ago, that the Blue Night happened sixteen years ago; Satan had simultaneously murdered a lot of clergymen. Neuhaus replies that Satan had just barely possessed him, making him lose his left eye, as well as using his hands to kill his family. He goes on to say he will never forgive Satan, nor any of his demons, as well as the son of Satan.

Seiya finds this ironic as she learned previously that Mephisto and Amaimon are also Satan's sons, but she says nothing. Neuhaus then goes on saying that he'll kill Rin even if it costs him his life, completely forgetting about Seiya, as he summons a ghoul arm from his and has it slam into Rin's abdomen. However, despite the blood dripping from his mouth, Rin has taken the blow like it's happened before. Masami is impressed he took such a strong attack.

Rin starts, "Are you satisfied now?" He begins to sheath his sword, "I'll fight you as many times as you want, I'm used to this shit. Just please…don't drag innocent people into this!"

Masami lowers herself and hovers behind Rin. Neuhaus is amazed at his words, and starts to come to his senses, just a little. Seiya pulls out a few kunai, ready for anything else he's about to throw, but instead, the Exorcist grips his arm tightly, and warns the two of them that others like him exist. He makes a retreat to the stairs, the battle finally over.

"Goddamn…" Seiya says. "I still don't get why he was after me though. My powers don't hurt humans."

Masami says, "He did say Satan killed his family. Perhaps he's jealous of the happiness you and Mephisto-san share…but his rage blinded him and caused him to lose his mind, adding fuel to the fire that had started many years ago."

The sun begins to rise, signaling the new day. Masami says, "Ah, the rays of a fresh sun. Come Young Master, we've done our part here."

"Right." Seiya responds.


	11. Accidental Love

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"

**Chapter 11:  
Accidental Love**

A couple hours pass. Kenta is more than happy to see his sister is better, and even happier she can walk around on her own. Everyone else is just as elated to see she is doing well. When Seiya pulls out her cell phone wanting to contact Mephisto, her brother suddenly angrily rips it from her hand and shoves it in his pocket. Without a word he leaves the room. Seiya follows him, eventually getting him to stop in another hallway.

She starts in a demanding tone, "Kenta, just what was that back there? Return my phone, now!"

Kenta gives her a stern look almost staring daggers, "Not unless you delete his number first."

"What? Kenta, have you lost it?"

"No I haven't! I don't want you seeing him! Ever since you were badly poisoned, I lost all respect for him! I forbid you to see that creep anymore!"

"You really have lost it! He was just as worried as everyone else, if not more-so! And you can't forbid me from seeing anyone I like; I'm five years your senior!"

"Are you saying you actually like that pedophile?"

"…"

Seiya takes a moment to think. Did she just admit she likes Mephisto?

When she doesn't respond, Kenta turns his back to her saying, "Just as I thought."

He walks away. Seiya lowers her head, gently grabbing her left arm with her right hand. Ukobach appears from behind, seeing that the girl is hurt and lost in thought. He tugs at her pants getting her to look at him. Trying to smile, she gets down on her knees to talk to the Familiar.

"_Is something wrong, Seiya-chan? You look a lot better than you did yesterday._" Ukobach asks.

She takes a moment before answering, "It's my brother… He really hates Mephisto for some reason."

"_What else is new?_"

"I'm serious, Ukobach. He's really furious. I don't get it. But what's worse….I admitted that I like your master."

"_Pfft, I knew you liked him when I helped you make dinner that night. And, I saw you two hugging as well, until Mizu broke ya guys up._"

"…Ukobach, how do I keep my brother and Mephisto?"

"_Hmm, there's only one way to do this. We need to get them in the same room together without Kenta's knowing. I know Mephisto, so we can let him in on it._"

"In that case, we better hurry. This foolishness needs to end. C'mon, to Mephy's-ahhh, I mean, uh…"

"_Oh yeah, you got it bad._"

"Be quiet, you!"

Walking around the campus, hands in his pockets, Kenta takes out his sister's cell phone. He looks through her contacts, finding him, Rin, Yukio, Bon, Renzo, Emi, and Mephisto. He selects Mephisto's number and deletes it himself. Exiting out of the contacts, he goes for the texts, ready to delete the ones between her and the king of time, but not before reading through them out of curiosity. Reading each one, Kenta discovers the texts are nothing more than regular conversations, mostly about how their days have progressed. There are no flirtatious texts to be found at all from either side, though they could have easily been deleted by Seiya, afraid someone might try to look at her phone.

Regardless, it takes several minutes for him to fully delete all the texts. He then looks at his phone; he has done this already. Satisfied, he shoves both phones into each pocket. The boy looks ahead and spots Hayato talking to another one of their friends. Quickly coming from behind them is Emi with her Saluki Familiar. The amber-eyed girl spots Kenta and waves.

They meet up with Hayato asking, "Hey Kenta. How's your sister doing? I heard about what happened with the exam."

The third friend excuses himself and heads off when his phone rings, and Kenta answers, "She's just about completely better."

"Then why do you look so angry? You know they say if you hold a look on your face, it freezes that way." Emi asks getting in his face.

Kenta responds, "…My sister likes the director…"

Hayato claps his hands together with a kitty-faced smirk saying, "Hohoho, we got romance blossoming on campus~!"

"I'm forbidding her from seeing him." Kenta quickly growls.

Gazeru responds shocked, "Kenta, you can't do that! You have no right getting between them like this! Especially if the feeling is mutual between them."

Kenta shouts, "I DON'T CARE! I don't like him, I never have, and I know for a fact he's just trying to get into her pants and just leave!"

Emi, Hayato, and Gazeru all look at each other, Hayato saying, "Um, Kenta, I saw those two hugging in the hallway until that strange Familiar sprayed water all over them. They're feelings look mutual. Plus, I know Mephisto myself; he isn't like that."

"Oh yeah? Do you have a sister, Hayato? Last I checked, the only sibling you had moved away after they failed classes here!" Kenta fires back.

"Kenta, you're not thinking about something…" Emi says. "Don't you want your sister to be happy?"

"Y-yeah I do, but, I don't want that creep dating her! If she's gonna date anybody, then they need my blessing first, and Mephisto doesn't have it, and never will get it!" the boy replies.

Gazeru sees something far in back of Kenta. It's Mephisto, Seiya, Ukobach on her shoulder, and Rin. The hellhound-looking Familiar tells Kenta to turn around and simply watch. The four are talking about something, but only Gazeru can hear them. Refusing to reveal what they're saying, Kenta watches carefully. Seiya looks upset about something, expressing her worry to the headmaster. Rin appears to be helping her explain something. Mephisto facepalms, but looks like he's agreeing to whatever it is they're talking about. That's when Rin looks over and spots the trio just out of hearing range.

Rin is first to walk over being followed by the headmaster, Seiya stays behind. As if exchanging groups, Hayato and Emi walk over to Seiya, Gazeru staying behind to make sure Kenta goes nowhere.

Going by Hayato quietly warns the director, "Be careful, Mephisto. His guns are blazing like it's a zombie apocalypse."

Mephisto gives a subtle nod. Once both groups have switched over, Hayato and Emi try to distract Seiya with a different topic, although Ukobach keeps a close watch on the event. The sound of a sword being drawn catches everyone's attention; Kenta has drawn his blade and has it pointed at Mephisto's throat.

"My, my, Hayato said your guns were blazing, but instead you pull out your sword." Mephisto tries to joke.

"Shove it, pervert!" Kenta growls. "I don't like you, and I don't like the fact you're suddenly so close with Seiya. The hell is your goal with her, huh? 'Cause if you're after what I _know_ you're after, I'll just kill you here and now!"

"Kenta, you're being completely irrational!" Rin shouts swatting the sword away. "Look, I can understand how you feel; you're trying to protect your only sister. But you're not getting the fact that Seiya is not only an adult and can make her own decisions, but you're not keeping her happiness in mind."

Kenta grabs Rin by the collar of his shirt saying, "I don't care if she's 50! I'm not letting her fall for someone that looks at her like she's some kind of sex toy!"

Mephisto asks, "Is that what this is about? You think I'm looking at her in that disgraceful way?"

Kenta lets go of Rin and yells, "Why else would I be so defensive? This isn't a bout of jealousy. I've seen how you've looked at her five years ago, and I see how you look at her now. You were just waiting for her to reach the age of consent, weren't you?!"

SMACK!

"Oh!" Gazeru winces.

Hayato says, "Damn, a back-handed bitchslap. That's gonna leave a mark."

"_The kid needed sense slapped into him. I never expected Mephisto to be pushed that far..._" Ukobach says having flinched.

A red mark begins to appear on Kenta's left cheek. Mephisto regains his composure with a serious look and says, "I've never had to lay a hand on a student before. But you, Kenta Takenaka, have pushed me over the edge."

Gazeru speaks, "Kenta, if I were you, I'd just listen."

Mephisto goes on, "You couldn't be more wrong about how I feel about your sister. I'm not aiming to get into her pants, and I definitely do not see her as some kind of 'sex toy'. Five years ago, I saw Seiya as a strong young lady with a lot of potential to be an Exorcist. Even now, I still see her as an intelligent, beautiful, strong woman. My feelings for her, however, yes, you could call it crush."

Hearing this, Seiya asks, "A…crush?"

Gazeru keeps Kenta from speaking by placing a paw over his mouth. Rin asks, "Wait, how long have you had this crush on her?"

"To be honest, our interactions were slim while they were being educated privately. Getting to my office was difficult because it was Seiya's wish that she didn't want her or Kenta being seen. But, I thought about it, and concluded there was something she did after she graduated that ignited this confusing fire…" Mephisto responds.

"Something…I did?" Seiya asks till she remembers, "…Oh I think I know what it was."

"Yeah?" Emi asks growing a curious face, "What did you do?"

Rewind back two years.

The graduation ceremony goes flawlessly, producing a mass amount of graduates from True Cross Academy. Seiya wanted to be a part of it, but revealing she's been here the whole time could raise eyebrows, and Kenta still has yet to fully control his powers reflecting his emotions. He still can't keep his tail hidden for long. Another problem, she has no family to watch the special moment.

Despite all these fears, Mephisto had pulled a few strings, and got her to be a part without raising any suspicion. Early that morning, he had proudly handed Seiya her diploma, and got her a spot within the waiting rows of students.

Amazingly, during the ceremony, no one had noticed her. Mephisto is able to give a speech congratulating all the grads, going on to say that all their hard work and efforts did not go to waste. After a few final words, the grads throw their hats in the air, celebrating one of their greatest moments. Everyone flocks to their families, receiving congratulatory gifts. Seiya, however, has made her way out of the growing crowd, and watches from a distance.

The girl sighs. "{If only… This is supposed to be one of the happiest moments of a person's life. Yet, here I am, no home to return to, no one to show my diploma to and gloat about. It'd be better if my brother could've come but…he just isn't in full control of his powers yet. One really is a lonely number.}"

She then hears a voice, "What's with the glum look, Young Seiya? You should be excited."

Seiya turns around finding Mephisto without his hat; his excuse being it got lost in the crowd after he too tossed it into the air.

"Believe me, Mr. Faust, I really am excited. It's just… They all have families to gloat about their success to. I really don't." Seiya responds.

"Are you forgetting about your brother?" Mephisto asks.

"No, but I'm sure he'd be happier if he was a part of the crowd."

"Well, what about me?"

"…"

Seiya looks up at the smiling director. As she tries to process what he said, he stretches out his hand to her. The message is clear. She takes his hand, but motions him to bend down to her level. When he does, she quickly kisses him on the cheek and hurries off, taking advantage of his confusion.

Back to the present.

Emi gives Seiya a flirtatious look saying, "Oh Seiya, you sly fox!"

"So wait, you kissed him as a thanks, but he saw it as something else?" Hayato asks trying to make sense of it all.

Seiya lowers her head, her bangs shadowing her eyes as she blushes replying, "Well, my feelings were mixed so…it was kinda more than a thanks…"

"So you did like him then?" Ukobah asks in surprise.

Seiya scratches the back of her head, "It wasn't until a week later when he surprised me with a rather late graduation gift."

"Which was?" Hayato questions.

Seiya pulls out a necklace Mephisto had gotten her two years ago. The lace itself is a simple gold chain with a small glass spherical pendant filled in to look like a starry night sky. It wasn't the most expensive item, but at that time, Seiya didn't care; it was the thought that mattered. She only kept it hidden so Kenta wouldn't find out; if he planned on continuing his education, seeing the gift would've enraged him, making him lose control of his flames.

"No way in hell was that inexpensive. It looks like it costed a lot." Ukobach argues.

"Actually when I was looking around online for something to read, I came across a site to a store that carried these." Seiya answers. "I don't care though, I'm not looking for pampering."

Kenta is shocked that all of this happened right behind his back. "So, this all started because she kissed you?"

Mephisto shrugs saying, "Call it accidental. It's just been a slow progress, that's all."

Rin asks, "So then, what did she do for two years to keep you two from getting together?"

"You're looking at the reason." Mephisto replies pointing to Kenta. "She was busy trying to help him get through the rest of his classes; apparently the teachers that were assigned were rougher than expected. She was also getting him to learn to control his flames when his emotions became too strong, and be able to use his sword without his powers activating."

Rin responds, "Yeah, that would interfere in a way, huh?"

Gazeru asks, "Kenta, can see why now? Their relationship barely got started because Seiya had to devote her time to you. That's quite a sacrifice if you ask me. Any other guy would have left her in a heartbeat. This man standing before you actually has all the patience in the world to wait, as well as understand the situation."

Kenta finally comes to terms with what's going on, and lowers his head in disgrace and guilt. He pulls out his sister's cell phone, telling Mephisto that he deleted his number out of rage, along with the texts. Not really caring about the texts knowing he's kept them on his phone, he isn't happy about his number being deleted from her phone.

Mephisto tells the boy, "Listen Kenta. If I was in your shoes, I'd do similar things. I can assure you though, I intend on protecting her to the very best of my abilities, I always have. Yes, being an Exorcist means getting injured and all that, but you two have come very far since I got you in. And Seiya has shown incredible growth ever since she started cram school. She can take care of herself. You need to start trusting your sister more."

"Y-you're right." Kenta admits. "I can't even begin to apologize for all this."

Rin says, "You can start by apologizing to your sister."

Kenta looks up, looking right at Seiya. Mephisto looks behind and spots the necklace he gave her two years ago; he is surprised she's still wearing it after all this time. Seiya makes the first move and walks towards her brother, Ukobach jumping down from her shoulder. Kenta walks out towards his sister, the two meeting in the middle. Without warning he quickly embraces her tightly. As she returns the embrace, he begins to lightly sob.

"Seiya, I'm sorry!" he starts. "I didn't know!"

"It's alright, little brother, I forgive you." Seiya responds.

Later that day, the class gathers in one of the dorm rooms. Mephisto appears with everyone eager to hear if they passed the Exwire Authorization Exam. After his recent episode, Kenta worries the most, afraid if the king of time may have failed him because of his behavior. Mizu and Masami are present for the occasion.

"Eins! Zwei! Drei!" Mephiso counts before Maneki Neko and Daruma dolls pop out from behind, "You all passed! Congratulations, you are all Exwires!"

Breathing a sigh of relief and feeling the rush of excitement, everyone is elated to hear the news.

Mephisto goes on, "As a reward, I'm treating you all to a feast!"

This gets the guys more riled up than anything.

"Who's hungry for monja?" Mephisto says.

Bon goes, "M-monja?"

Rin says, "Barbecue's way better…"

Seiya shakes her head, "{That's Mephisto for you. Always goes for the cheaper option. Well, at least Ukobach gets a break.}"

"Aw man c'mon, why monja?" Kenta grunts.

A bit later at a monjayaki restaurant, a few different batters are poured onto the grill. Sadly, Mizu and Masami had to stay behind at the dorm. Away from the group as they cook the food, Yukio and Mephisto – dressed in a yukata half blue and half white with said colored stars – discuss the matter about Neuhaus.

"Really, Seiya tried coming to the rescue, huh?" Mephisto asks.

"Yeah, she did. But still, I don't like what happened either way. If he wanted, he could've killed the both of them had I not destroyed the circle." Yukio responds.

"I do apologize for what happened in Rin's case. However, I won't forgive the fact he went after the both of them. I'll make sure that won't happen again. He's as good as gone starting tomorrow."

"…Good."

Renzo calls after a moment of silence, "Hey, Mr. Okumura, you want some lemonade?"

As Yukio rejoins the group, Mephisto takes out his cell and is about to call Amaimon when a thought crosses his mind. He wants his brother to test Rin, but at the same time doesn't want to endanger Seiya. Thinking about it, he finally does call Amaimon, but keeps quiet about Seiya. However when he tells his brother to come to the academy, the green-haired demon says in a mocking tone that he thought his older brother banished him for going after his woman. A silence ensues, and Mephisto hangs up in response.

Meanwhile somewhere in Gehenna, sitting atop a giant recently killed demon, Amaimon smirks thinking he was right about his brother's feelings towards Seiya. But then, he begins to think about Rin, recalling how the boy couldn't stand up to him trying to protect the girl. He hopes this time though, that Rin will be able to cure his boredom…and be much more of a challenge.


	12. Mizu's Excellent Adventure!

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 12:  
Mizu's Excellent Adventure!**

"Okay Mizu," Seiya begins, "you and Nii-chan stay here in the garden. Shiemi and I need to do a couple errands, so we shouldn't be very long."

Shiemi says, "And we won't be too far either. See you babies in a bit!"

Today is officially summer to most, with the heat being very intense. It's been a while since the class has been promoted to Exwires, though much to Rin's dismay it also increased the amount of homework given. Although Kenta still can't bring himself to like Mephisto, he tries to keep his protective nature tied to a chain in order to give him a chance. Luckily for everyone, it's the weekend, a Sunday no less. With the garden being relatively cool with the constant watering, despite being located on one of the taller towers, Mizu and Nii-chan don't need to worry much about dying in the heat.

The girls leave, heading off to do what they need. Mizu sighs, never really enjoying being by himself, but at least gets to help by protecting the garden, and he has made friends with Shiemi's mother who offers him food and water. The patch Seiya prepared a long time ago has finally started to grow buds; Nii-chan often makes sure they get plenty of care.

After waddling around the garden for a while, Mizu becomes bored and plops to the ground. Nii-chan takes notice and floats over asking what's up with the chimera.

"_{What's the mattew, Mizu? You're weally bored all of a sudden.}_" Nii-chan asks.

Mizu replies, "_{I'm just tiwed of this woutine, you know? I just wish I could get biggew so I can go pwaces with Mommy. Heck, I heawd you fought against a weally big and scawy demon, and you'we no biggew than a mouse!}_"

"_{But I was summoned, so I'm meant for battle. You can battle too, but you'we younger than me. I've seen you spway water; it's like it comes fwom a fire twuck!}_"

"_{But it's not good enough. Hey, I got an idea! How about we weave the gawden and go on our own adventuwe?}_"

"_{Are you mad, Mizu? We can't just up a weave! Pwus, we have no way of going anywhere without our masters!}_"

"_{Who says we need them fow evewything? I can make us a…a uh…a fwying thingy so we can go pwaces!}_"

"_{Bad ideas are the fiwst sign of madness, you know…}_"

"_{Oh pwease, Nii. Actuawwy, now that I think about it…you can gwow things out of youw bewwy! Gwow something now!}_"

"_{No!}_"

"_{I'll get the giwls to come back if you don't. I don't think you want that.}_"

"_{Ohhhh! Fine! But we better be back before that lady notices we're gone!}_"

"_{Yay, adventuwe!}_"

The two baby Familiars sneak out of the garden and make their way to the bridge. Mizu uses his water attack to jump up onto the ledge and look down, seeing just how high up they really are. He isn't even fazed by the height, though Nii-chan is very nervous. Though unable to really argue with the chimera, he sprouts a large flower from his back as well as several vines that wrap around his friend. The flower begins to spin, acting like one giant helicopter blade, and lifts them into the air.

Nii-chan nervously lowers them slowly, though to Mizu it's too slow. The baby chimera gets another idea, aims his head upward and sprays a powerful jet of water that rockets them downward at a high speed. Nii-chan screams out of pure fear while Mizu gets a big kick out of it, actually laughing along the way down fully oblivious to the fact the flower has stopped spinning. When the two start to see the lower grounds, Nii-chan snaps out of his fear and gets the flower moving frantically just in time. The baby Familiars land safely on the ground. The baby Greenman recalls the plants he grew as he falls onto his back, meanwhile Mizu begins to explore.

Giving chase, Nii-chan catches up by growing a smaller flower from his back, and uses it to propel himself forward. Mizu is in instant admiration of the new area they've entered. Nii-chan wants nothing more than to return to the garden where it's safer.

Several minutes later, the two baby Familiar come upon a different gate leading to a road outside. There are two guards and a black cat with two tails and two small horns on its head; it also wears a collar with an Exorcist pendant. It stands as still as a statue facing the road. Curious at this new demon, Mizu rushes over wanting to meet it, Nii-chan close behind trying to get him to reconsider.

Finally at the gate, Mizu orders Nii-chan to fly them up to the cat, but instead the cat notices them. It looks down with an unreadable expression, then returns to staring out at the road. Thinking he's being ignored, Mizu sprays him with water. The cat flinches now wet and jumps down with a hiss.

Nii-chan panics, "_{Ahh! S-sorry, Mr. Neko! My friend is-is…I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE!}_"

"_{Huh? You two…you're just babies! What are you doing here?}_" the cat responds surprised.

Mizu answers, "_{We'we on an adevtuwe! But, we wanna know why you'we stawing at the woad.}_"

The cat looks back out replying, "_{Shiro hasn't come by in the longest time. I'm really worried…}_"

"_{Who's Shiro?}_" Nii-chan asks.

"_{A very good friend of mine. He's an Exorcist that also doubles as a priest. I know he gets busy but…it's been forever since I've seen him. You two probably wouldn't know him.}_" the cat answers.

The three Familiars overhear one of the guards saying, "Doesn't Kuro know that Shiro's died a while back?"

The other guard tries to shush him, "Quiet! Kuro has really good hearing, you know!"

"_{Died?}_" Mizu asks. "_{What does 'died' mean?}_"

"_{I don't know. Do you know what it means, Kuro?}_" Nii-chan asks.

Kuro doesn't respond. Instead he looks back at the guards with that unreadable expression. Without warning, the black cat suddenly dashes at the guard that said Shiro had died and bites his arm. The baby Familiars don't know what to think and quickly look for a place to hide, but find nothing. They instead huddle together against the bridge wall and watch in pure terror as Kuro unleashes his rage, suddenly growing to a size as big as a bus.

The other guard sends out a distress call, and before any of the Familiars know it, a group of Exorcists are summoned to the location. They spot the terrified baby Familiars and dismiss them as being evil. They focus their attention to Kuro who is enraged, but stands at a distance, his tails occasionally hitting the ground. With a standstill in progress, Mizu gains some courage and jumps in between everyone, facing the enraged Kuro. Some of the Exorcists start to put up a barricade to keep Kuro from going anywhere.

"Hey, what's that chimera doing?" one Exorcist asks.

Another responds, "It looks like it wants to help us!"

Mizu cries, "_{Kuwo, you need to stop! Why awe you attacking these humans?}_"

"_{They're liars, chimera! LIARS! There's no way Shiro's dead! NO WAY!}_" Kuro roars.

Nii-chan demands, "_{But what does dead even mean?!}_"

Kuro replies, "_{Dead is the opposite of alive. The body is lifeless, it doesn't move, it's limp. But Shiro isn't dead! He'll come back!}_"

Mizu begins to process this information, and remembers something. Mephisto went limp a long while ago when he fought Amaimon. He didn't know what it meant at the time, but knew he had to call for help when the king of time stopped moving. But he also remembers, Seiya saved him with a revival ability that she hasn't been able to use since.

"_{Wait, hold on. You said dead means the body is no wonger awive, wight? Well, I encountewed that once! Meph…Mephi…Mephisto died once, when he fought that gween haiwed man! But then, Mommy wevived him somehow. Maybe she can wevive this Shiwo pewson too!}_" Mizu tries to plead.

Nii-chan says, "_{But Mizu, if this Shiro guy has been dead a while, then there's no way Seiya can bring him back…}_"

"_{HE ISN'T DEAD!}_" Kuro roars before striking the two babies.

But before his claws could connect, the Exorcists unload rounds of tranquilizers at him, saving the two Familiars. Angered feeling the needles penetrate his body, Kuro roars again and goes after the group. Mizu decides to fight back, spraying Kuro with a powerful jet of holy water. This causes Kuro great pain, and he turns around going after them once more. One Exorcist throws a can of holy water, but for some reason, it has no effect. It does gain his attention, but instead of attacking, he jumps onto a road sign pole.

Eventually, having created a blockade, one of the Exorcists has called in another, this time it's Yukio. To his dismay, Rin has followed him and his Exwire status grants him access to the gate. The Exorcist explains that Kuro, guardian of the southern gate, has gone berserk. Yukio questions the guards and finds they let it slip about Shiro's death saying that he probably heard them. However, Rin can hear what Kuro is saying as he shouts calling the Exorcists liars. That's when he notices Mizu and Nii-chan out in the far front.

"What the? Hey, Yukio look! It's Mizu and Nii-chan!" Rin calls.

Yukio looks and says, "What? The heck are they doing here? I thought Seiya and Shiemi left them at the garden!"

"Guess they managed to slip out somehow." Rin says.

One of the Exorcists reveals, "Yeah, those little guys were already here before Kuro went berserk. The guards said they were talking to each other before this happened. That little chimera sure is a brave thing; it shot a jet of water at Kuro, but for some reason our holy items have no effect."

Another informs, "We've shot him with a lot of tranquilizers, so his movements are slowed, but he'll snap out of it soon enough."

Kuro goes on the offensive again, bypassing the baby Familiars. He whips his tails hitting a couple of the Exorcists until the others shoot him with more tranquilizers. He growls shaking them off before backing off.

Rin asks what Kuro has to do with Shiro, prompting Yukio to answer that Kuro was their father's Familiar. He goes on to explain that Kuro is a Cat Sidhe, which is a demon that posses a cat. It's said if a cat in Japan lives long enough it will grow a second tail, and live far beyond a regular cat's life span. Yukio explains that Kuro used to help protect silk farmers many years ago in ancient times. As a result, he became their guardian and received festivals or offerings, living peacefully with humans. However, as the times changed and silk production became outdated, those people forgot all about their guardian. Eventually, construction found its way to Kuro's home, destroying his shrine. The shock value and stress building from all this turned him into a demon.

Overhearing all of this, Mizu and Nii-chan start to understand more of Kuro. Wanting to stop him, the baby Greenman grows vines from his body and quickly wraps up the upset Cat Sidhe. Mizu once more shoots him with a jet of water, hoping it'll damage him enough to stop him. However, Kuro fights through the light-based water attack, breaking through the vines. He goes after them once again before being stopped short from more shots being fired and two more canteens of holy water being thrown at him.

"_{Kuwo, you need to stop! You need to accept the fact Shiwo's gone!}_" Mizu cries.

Kuro roars, "_{Are you saying you believe them? Then you're a liar too! All of you, LIARS!}_"

"_{Ngh, Mizu, it's no use! We should get out of here!}_" Nii-chan says.

Rin, astonished, is able to hear the demons. The Exorcists ask if Yukio knows anything about Kuro from Shiro, though this strikes up another story. Two years ago, there were strange occurrences happening at a construction site; metal walls falling over, beams mysteriously falling off, and equipment being knocked over. It was all Kuro's doing, though those without a temptaint wouldn't know and couldn't see him. The village tried calling on shamans, but when they were powerless, they called in the Exorcists, Yukio, an Exwire at the time, being a part of the group. Shiro, revealed to have been a Paladin, took the lead carrying an offering of catnip wine. Telling the others he could handle it, he somehow managed to reason with the upset Cat Sidhe. From there, Kuro bonded with Shiro, the little feline becoming his Familiar.

The baby Familiars start to understand. Kuro had bonded so well with Shiro that he believes the Paladin could never have died. He absolutely refuses to accept the fact that he's gone. They hear that if a Familiar's master were to die, it would revert back to its demon form. They look at each other confused; they don't have these demonic forms that Kuro has, and neither does Masami from what they know.

One of the Exorcists walks over to try and collect the baby Familiars, but Kuro attacks him, thinking he is a threat. Despite the fact he's nearly attacked them a few times, he's still willing to protect them from anything he deems a threat. Yukio calls to them, hoping maybe that might work better. However, Kuro blocks them.

"_{No!}_" he speaks. "_{I'm not letting you near those liars! Not until Shiro comes back! And he WILL come back!}_"

Yukio won't be able to use whatever it is his father prepared should Kuro go out of control if something ever happened. He thinks it could be something that'll kill Kuro, and is already out of options. As he walks towards the berserk Familiar, Rin suddenly pleads with him after hearing Kuro that he's only lonely, and can't kill him for that. Not to mention, there's nothing anyone can do unless they plan on risking Seiya and Shiemi's Familiars. Looking at Mizu and Nii-chan, he knows his brother is right. Rin tells him not to worry; he'll use his head instead of Satan's power. Taken aback, Yukio watches Rin stand up to the upset Cat Sidhe.

Rin eventually yells, "Hey! I'm Shiro's son, Rin Okumura!"

Kuro's ears move and calms a little now stunned, "_{S-Shiro's…!}_"

Mizu says, "_{Listen to him, Kuwo! Please!}_"

"He's dead." Rin bluntly says. "He died."

"_{LIES! It's a lie! I won't believe you!}_" Kuro yells.

Rin repeats, "He died."

Kuro roars, "_{It's a lie! DON'T LIE TO ME!}_"

Eyes closed, Kuro charges at Rin, who only lowers his head and prepares himself. Kuro's head bangs into Rin's head, but the Cat Sidhe finds himself on the ground on his side of the headbutt. Yukio can't believe that Rin literally used his head, as it clearly wasn't what he meant. With Kuro shaking in pain, the baby Familiars hurry over to Rin, Nii-chan going right over to Yukio, feeling safer at a distance. Rin and Mizu look at the hurt Cat Sidhe. As the older twin wipes away blood drooping from his nose as a result of the impact, he approaches Kuro, who recovers enough to look up at him.

Rin asks, "You really loved the old man, didn't you? That's why, you were sad and lonely."

Kuro calms himself, deciding this time to listen as he stands up.

Rin goes on extending his hand, "I'm the same. How about we make peace."

Mizu looks up at Rin, "_{[Big Oku… You'we actuawwy weasoning with him. How come we couldn't?]}_"

This scene reminds Yukio of two years ago when his father made peace with Kuro. It's almost as if history is repeating itself. It also begins to remind Kuro of Shiro, starting to remember the good times, including getting drunk with him. Finally, after all this time, Kuro comes to his senses, returning to the size of a normal cat. He cries coming to the realization that Shiro is indeed gone. The danger over, Mizu waddles to the crying cat and nuzzles up to him. The two quickly hug each other as best they can, Kuro apologizing for attacking them. Because Kuro is crying though, the baby Familiars cry as well.

Later that day, Kuro had received his present from Shiro, the catnip wine which gets him drunk. Rin held a toast to their dad, but accidentally drank a capful of the wine on accident, and is a little sick to his stomach. Mizu and Nii-chan sleep peacefully next to Yukio, whose cell phone begins to ring. It's Seiya.

"Hello, Seiya?" Yukio answers.

"Yukio! Shiemi and I ran late and discovered our Familiars aren't anywhere in the garden! You haven't seen them, have you?" Seiya asks in a panic.

"It's alright, Seiya. They're actually here with us." Yukio replies.

"…They're…outside the garden?!" Seiya responds.

Yukio explains the situation, telling her about what happened with Kuro and how the two were spotted confronting him. After the event, the three demons started playing a little bit before the two babies tired out. He tells the girls that they'll be returning to the dorm soon, now that Rin has obtained Kuro as his Familiar.

At the garden, Seiya is happy to know that Mizu and Nii-chan are safe. She hangs up her phone. The black-haired girl decides to head back to the dorm, bidding Shiemi a farewell. Along the way on the bridge, she encounters Mephisto who is coming through the door from the opposite tower. He sees that not only is she dressed in a simple white dress shirt with a long black-and-white paisley skirt and black booties, and also wearing the starry night necklace, but her left arm is in a sling.

"Seiya, what happened?" he asks. "Surely you didn't hurt yourself to avoid our date tonight…"

"No, I'm fine, Mephisto." she answers. "Someone decided to be a jerk to us earlier and threw the hat Shiemi got high into a tree. I'm a natural tree climber…since I've had to get my brother out of them and rescue our cat numerous times…so I got her hat, but on the way down I slipped and fell on my arm. It isn't broke, but it became dislocated."

"Oh, my poor Seiya…"

"We went to the hospital and I got it popped back into place, but it hurts like hell, and I'm not supposed to move it. Regardless, I still plan on doing any mission that comes along; I'll just have to hang back and rely on Masami…"

"I think I'll see to it you recover first. After all, any Exorcist knows they should be at 100% before they return to the battlefield, otherwise they could become a burden."

"True. So, where are we going for our first date?"

"Ah yes. Since it's still rather hot out, I thought we could go out for some very cooling ice cream; I know a fantastic place~!"

"Fine with me; I could use it after that fall. Hmm, but I sense another hidden reason behind this… Would it be the fact I saved your third favorite monjayaki from Rin?"

"W-what? D-don't be silly, my dear!"

"It is, isn't it?"

"Yes… You need to stop being so sharp, young Seiya."

"Afraid I can't do that, Mephisto."

"Definitely one of your strongest points. Shall we?"


	13. Devil Snake

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 13:  
Devil Snake**

"Wait, you're saying we're hunting down a Dunsparce in an old abandoned shrine?" Kenta asks.

Seiya responds, "Not a Dunsparce, baka, a Tsuchinoko. They're really tiny snakes with a wide girth compared to other snakes. They can speak, but they're best trait is lying, aside from being as toxic as a viper."

"Precisely, young Seiya." Mephisto says. "Now then, you two are to only confirm their existence at the shrine so that I may send in more experienced Exorcists to relocate them in a new shrine; even Exwires at your level shouldn't be messing with such potent serpents just yet."

"Aw man, this ain't a real mission?!" Kenta whines. "So unfair!"

"Oh you might run into some low-level demons along the way, but it shouldn't be anything you siblings can't handle. I'm also having Hayato and Emi go with you, just in case you run into trouble." Mephisto adds on.

"Fine with me." Seiya happily responds. "Emi and I have been getting along pretty well."

Kenta only complains, "Argh why are we being escorted?!"

With the summer season going on, Exwires are able to leave the True Cross campus for simple missions. Rin, Renzo, and Izumo have been sent to the coastline under the watch of Tsubaki to deal with a Kraken plaguing the ocean. Today, the Takenaka Siblings are to confirm the existence of the Tsuchinoko, a small snake having made its way onto the list of Cryptids – animals ignored by science or otherwise proven real, to have existed, or a hoax. Sightings have recently been reported about the snake at an old shrine in the forest just south of a neighboring town. If they do exist, they are to be relocated to a new shrine, as they are praised for keeping away troublesome rodents.

Together with Hayato and Emi along with her Familiar, they are driven to the town by one of the Instructors. They are informed that no Fatal Verse has been discovered for these venomous snakes, so Arias won't be effective. However, since they are not exorcising them, the group doesn't need to worry unless they are attacked first. Regardless, the group is told not to kill any of the Tsuchinoko; one death means they fail the mission. Most demons don't bother with them, but there is always the one chance one will attack, and once more are told that if any of the snakes are killed by another demon, the mission will count as a failure. Kenta questions why only one death means they fail, to which the Instructor answers the snakes are protected and in few numbers. The new shrine will allow them to increase those numbers and keep them well protected so future generations can continue controlling unwanted pests.

Arriving just outside the forest, the Instructor tells the group that he'd stay within the area should they need backup. With Hayato already being an Exorcist, they should be more than well-prepared for anything. The group heads into the forest, following the only pathway there.

Meanwhile at the academy, Bon is in the library doing some research on Seiya's white flames. He has pulled out numerous books, some with saved pages on possible origins. Reading through the current book, his eyes widen.

"Whoa…could that be where her flames are from? No, it can't be. But if it is, then how come no passage talks about this? Agh, no it's too early to assume. I need to do more digging first."

Back at the forest, the group notices it's a bit too quiet. Seiya uses her Aura Sight Ability to locate any demons, but can't find much, even the snakes they need to locate.

"{Man, this is boring; I'm way too used to fighting things.} So…Seiya…" Hayato starts, "I heard you went on a date with Mephisto the other day. How'd that go?"

Kenta immediately butts in saying, "Date? What date? There was no date! I stopped them from going out!"

Emi says with a smirk, "Oho, you little liar!"

Seiya responds, "Yes he's incredibly bad at lying. But it actually went really well. We went out for ice cream, and went out on a little walk, and when we got back and I followed him to his mansion to be with him for a couple hours, he started rubbing my shoulder. I don't know what he did, but it felt a thousand times better than the medicine I was given could ever do."

"Keheheheheh, did you 'feed his Frankenstein'?" Hayato asks with a questionable smirk.

"Feed his what?" Seiya asks confused.

"His 'Frankenstein'." Hayato responds looking at her. "Don't you get the reference?"

"I have no idea what you're going for, Hayato." Seiya answers.

Kenta says, "Yeah, I don't get it either."

Gazeru laughs and says, "Ah, they never heard the song before. That would mean they don't know who Alice Cooper is."

"Who?" the siblings ask.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" Hayato growls. "You've never heard of the great Alice Cooper – didn't you guys watch Wayne's World before?"

Kenta answers, "We never really watched a whole lot of movies growing up. So…we're completely lost here."

Hayato purposely hits his head on a tree unable to believe the Takenaka Siblings have no idea of the song and its artist. Emi can't help but laugh sounding like a psychopath. At that moment, they come upon the old shrine. It is total disrepair, falling apart with a caved-in roof. Seiya once more uses her Aura Sight Ability, but finds herself straining to use it. Ever since she pushed it trying to seek out Mephisto that day, and on top of the new missions, she's had issues using it multiple times in one day. They'll have to look the old fashioned way.

Gazeru smells the area hoping to find a scent as the others search the rather large clearing. Kenta comes upon some shed snake skin, but it's so old touching it turns it to dust. Suddenly, the group hears a single hiss. Hayato lifts up some paneling and finds a light tan Tsuchinoko with red markings that make it look as if it's been scratched. Its eyes are a mustard yellow color, and it has an ivory underbelly.

"Wow, they're real!" Kenta says amazed.

Seiya takes out a small book with images of Japanese Cryptids and finds the snake saying, "Yup, that's a Tsuchinoko. It says they come in all sorts of colors. But this is only a single snake."

The snake speaks with an androgynous voice, "That's because my clan has been under control by this strange cobra recently. It's got weird hypnotic powers, but I fought through it and tried looking for help. Y-you guys are from that True Cross thing, right?"

Emi answers, "Yeah, we're from True Cross Academy. But you snakes are known to lie so, how do we know that story isn't some sort of trap?"

Seiya reads from the book, "Although Tsuchinoko are well-known liars, they are found to be truth telling. The best sign to truth telling it gives is when it changes to its main body color for a full second."

"Okay then." Kenta says. "Tsuchinoko, is your clan really under attack by a cobra?"

Tsuchinoko replies, "Yes."

Its body becomes the light tan color for a second. The little snake is telling the truth.

"Well, this is a problem." Hayato says. "But we can't let any of its clan members die. We'll have to handle this ourselves."

"Seriously?" Kenta asks.

"Yeah, we were only sent to see if they existed." Seiya adds in.

Emi responds, "True, but the fact of the matter is, the others are in danger. We should check it out."

"Well put, Emi." Gazeru says.

"Perfect! Hurry, follow me!" the snake responds. "By the way, the name's Kyou."

Kyou leads the group to another area in back of the clearing. They find themselves on a cliff looking down into a pool of water being fed by a waterfall coming out of the cliffside before turning into a calm stream. On one side of the stream is a rather large cobra, possibly a King Cobra, with its hood extended. The hood appears to have a glowing light coming from it; that same light is reflected into the clan of 20 Tsuchinoko. They all indeed vary in color and markings, but as of now only seem to give off a solid color.

Seiya tries once more to use her Aura Sight Ability, but again it strains, rendering it useless. The others, however, have no trouble seeing horns growing from the cobra's head, larger than normal fangs, and its tail producing a tuft of fur. The hooded snake is either a demon itself, or fully possessed.

The cobra then speaks, "Listen to me, my loyal subjects! Tonight is the night you turn on those humans you help protect! They are worthless hunks of flesh that deserve to rot. They serve you no purpose. Your poison is potent, so those miserable humans will die within minutes! We shall rule all of Japan!"

"Tch, guys, something about that cobra just doesn't feel right, aside from its fashion sense." Seiya says, commenting on its horrid colors.

Emi says, "Yeah, I feel it too. Isn't it awesome?"

"Emi, dammit, this isn't the time for jokes!" Kenta says.

Gazeru is first to back away, his tail in between his legs, ears back. "Everyone, we need to call for backup, and I mean backup!"

Kyou asks, "What's the matter?"

"Y-you can't sense that? That cobra isn't just your average demon! I can feel it…i-it's one of Satan's disciples!" Gazeru says.

"…One of…" Seiya begins to say before she realizes, "Oh crap, it's a trap! We need to leave!"

Out of nowhere the cobra strikes, wrapping its long body around Seiya so she is unable to move. It speaks, "Ah, if it isn't the female my lord has so much interest in~. Not to mention the fact one of his sons fiercely protects her, hahahahaha~!"

"Grr, let her go, you bastard!" Kenta shouts drawing his sword.

"Ah, and her brother is here as well, even better! My lord will be pleased that one of us has succeeded in capturing you two!" the cobra says.

Hayato demands pointing his handgun, "Just what are you getting at, demon?"

The cobra laughs uncontrollably, "Oh Mephisto has done well leading them to me. Those Tsuchinoko over there, they're unharmed, just asleep. I set up this whole arrangement, knowing he'd send these two my way. You see, humans, these siblings have interesting powers indeed, aside from that Okumura child. We all know about Rin. But not all of us know of the brother-sister duo here. Kenta here has similar powers to Rin, with those flames of his, but he isn't of much interest since he's weaker and only a descendant of a demon from the Rot Tribe. Seiya, on the other hand, has a very special ability indeed that Satan has particular interest in. But I guess I'll take the boy too."

"You really think we're gonna let this happen? You better think twice!" Hayato says aiming his handguns.

"You know, you really are something, you bastard!" Seiya says. "There's no way Mephisto would hand us over to you like this! He…he loves me!"

"Oh, but that's what he would want you to believe, now isn't it?" the cobra questions sounding more than convincing.

Kenta growls, "Look you bastard, I may not like Mephisto, but I know he wouldn't turn on us like that! Now let my sister go!"

Hayato goes to Emi quietly, "There's only one way we can beat this thing, and that's a Fatal Verse. You're studying to be an Aria, right?"

"Yeah." Emi answers.

"Good." He looks at the siblings. "Sir Pheles was smart to tell of us these two beforehand. Now, I'm not sure of the verse for this thing, so will you help me locate it?"

"I love challenges!" Emi agrees. She pulls out a scroll, bites her thumb, and spreads her blood across a magic circle reciting, "Light and Darkness combine into one! Let the Sun and Moon be set to stun, and let not my iron will be outdone!"

From the scroll appears two kangaroos, one is cream with a grey underbelly, the other is magenta with a light pink underbelly. Both the mammals sport small horns and flames dancing off their hips, a clear sign they're from the Fire Tribe. The cobra laughs at this as both Emi and Hayato begin to chant different verses trying to find the right one. The cobra creates illusory copies of itself that attacks the others, though the clones are handled with ease. The demon creates more, each one more difficult to destroy than the last.

Meanwhile at the mansion, Mephisto sits on the edge of his bathtub dressed in a lavender yukata with pink swirls preparing a bath for himself when he hears something break. He leaves the bathroom to investigate only to find one of his favorite glass figurines has fallen onto the floor, and lies in pieces. Oddly enough, this particular figurine was placed further back on its shelf, so how could it have fallen? But then he realizes this figurine looked like a phoenix, almost like how Masami looks. A grave expression grows on his face.

"…Don't tell me…Seiya!"

Back at the forest, Hayato and Emi are unable to continue their search for the Fatal Verse; the illusory copies have wrapped themselves around them. Kenta has done his best to hold back his flames, but now under a greater threat, he has unleashed his full power against the cobra itself. Unfortunately, a copy blocks his effort, and using its hypnotic abilities had Kenta attack himself. The Kangaroo Familiars struggle against two of the copies while Gazeru has been sent to get help.

Making its escape, the cobra releases the Tsuchinoko clan and still wrapped around Seiya, decides to swim downstream. However, he cannot drown the girl on Satan's orders, so she is held just above the water with her mouth covered. She cannot call for help, but does her best to struggle, only to run out of energy.

The snake says beginning to sound psychotic, "Oh Satan, I have the girl! Hurry, open the gate! Open the gate! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Just then, something hits it in the head causing it to jump onto dry land. On the other side of the stream is Kyou. The small wide snake glares at the cobra with an intent to stop it.

Kyou states, "Release the girl, cobra! Your reign of terror is over!"

"Pfft, yeah like you can stop me. You're nothing more than an annoying flea." the cobra taunts.

Gazeru appears from behind Kyou.

The snake taunts once more, "Oh, so you think the both of you will—"

The cobra then hears chanting. Out from behind Gazeru appears Bon, reciting the correct Fatal Verse. Thrown into a panic, the cobra flails releasing Seiya. It quickly springs at the Aria Exwire, but Seiya lights it on fire using Starlight Burst. The snake springs at her next as she prepares her kunai blade, and the two end up in a struggle, the cobra using its fangs. Poison seeps out of them, to which the girl takes out a kunai and goes to stab the demon in the head, but it dodges and spits at her. She jumps to her side avoiding the venom, and slashes at the reptile sending flames at it.

Just as it strikes again, Bon completes the verse and the cobra dissipates into nothing. The illusory copies disappear as well, setting the others free. Seiya drops to her knees taking a breather. Kyou, Gazeru, and Bon cross the stream to check on her. Luckily this time, she isn't poisoned at all.

Bon helps her up and she asks, "Just how did you get here anyway?"

"Gazeru can teleport, a trait belonging to Hellhounds." Bon answers. "He teleported to the campus and happened to find me leaving the library. When he told me you guys were in trouble, I told him to take me to where you are."

"In that case, I'm glad you came. If you hadn't, I'd be in Gehenna by now." Seiya thanks.

Kyou says, "Hey, you guys still have a mission to complete, right?"

"Hahaha, I think it's complete now, Kyou!" Seiya laughs.

Back at the old shrine, a few Exorcists have arrived on the scene. The Instructor that drove the group spots them coming out of the forest with Bon and the clan of Tsuchinoko, Kenta saying they found them. Those that Meister in Doctor inspect the group soon finding neither are seriously wounded or worse. Emi's two Kangaroo Familiars disappear feeling they are no longer needed, and the Tsuchinoko are gathered into several carriers for their trip to the new shrine a few miles away. However, Kyou does not board a carrier, and instead looks at Kenta.

The little snake slithers to him saying, "You know, life here was cool and all, but I kinda like you guys. So Kenta, is it okay if I become your Familiar? I know those things are trending these days."

Kenta can't believe what he's hearing, "…You wanna be my…Familiar?"

"Yeah. I'm not much of a clan member anyway. So is that okay? Can I stay with you guys?" Kyou responds.

Kenta picks it up agreeing, "Of course you can! I've always wanted a Familiar since I can't summon one!"

Gazeru says, "Before I found Bon, I alerted our Instructor, and luckily there were other Exorcists in the area. Man, I hope that doesn't happen again."

"You said it." Hayato says. "I can't believe how tough those illusory copies got!"

Everyone then hears, "SEIYA!"

Emi bursts into laughter, "HAHAHAHAHA, hey Seiya, your boytoy's here!"

"The hell! He is not a—wait, what did you mean by that?" Seiya goes to say, but ends up confused.

Mephisto appears from the path, still in his yukata. The girls blush with the guys trying to block their vision, but Seiya makes her way through and gets the director's attention by spinning her kunai blade. He looks at her and is relieved to see she is okay. The two meet up in the middle of the clearing with him hugging her a bit too tightly.

"I was really worried, Seiya!" he starts. "My phoenix figurine fell and broke even though it was closest to the wall, and I knew something was wrong."

"But why the…oh because Masami looks like a phoenix!" Seiya says. "I was in trouble, but Gazeru brought Bon here. This cobra demon was in ties with Satan and wanted to bring me to him, but as you can see, that slimy jerkwad is no more."

Bon calls in a joking tone, "Oi, drop the leash, will ya?"

"Which one?" Seiya sarcastically responds.

Back at the campus with the mission completed, Bon asks Seiya to walk with him. She accepts and the two find themselves in a spot where no other students are around. He begins to tell her what he found about her flames and what she could possibly be. It's still tough to tell, but so far it's a strong assumption.

"Really…so you think whatever it is affected one of my ancestors, but passed on to each generation just lying dormant long enough to find me?" Seiya asks.

"That's what I'm assuming." Bon answers. "I can't be too sure just yet."

"It sounds like it makes a lot of sense though. Does Mephisto know?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"Good, don't."

"What?"

"If he finds out what I could possibly be, then it'll make him even more over-protective than he's been. Let's just keep it between us, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Hey, I got a question. Do you know this Alice Cooper guy?"

"Who doesn't? Why?"

"Well, I told the others how my date went, and Hayato asked if I 'fed Mephisto's Frankenstein'. Do you know what he meant?"

"…Oh my god, you mean you don't know?"

"Neither does Kenta. We listened to a lot of music, but never heard of that guy."

"Uhh, how can I put this?"

Bon explains the song to Seiya to which she responds, "Oh my god, why is Hayato such a damn pervert?!"


	14. The Mice Will Play

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 14:  
The Mice Will Play**

At Mephisto's mansion, Kenta sits outside the bathroom door, the tricky demon having left it cracked because the young boy wanted to speak with him about what the cobra had said earlier. The king of time sits in his tub listening to Kenta tell what happened. His new Familiar, Kyou the Tsuchinoko, sleeps on the boy's head.

"So," Mephisto starts, "that snake had plans of dragging Seiya to Gehenna, huh?"

Kenta responds, "But it wasn't just that. He said that you lead us to him, and he even spilled the beans about our powers to Emi and Hayato!"

"Hmph, luckily for you I pulled those two aside at one point and told them about you. Not every Exorcist here knows of you siblings, and the last thing I needed was for them to find out the hard way."

"What do you mean?"

"Hayato is very serious about his work. He takes care of demons without a second thought. Had he found out on the spot, he would've shot you and your sister. Emi and Gazeru are quite an interesting pair with that Familiar of hers acting as her conscious when she's driven into insanity. Although she may not wish to kill you or Seiya, Gazeru would have convinced her to. But Gazeru doesn't deem either of you as a threat, so I know you two are in perfect hands."

"…Man you suck."

"It's either I have to jump in and save you or I prevent it. Your choice, my boy."

"Okay well, what about what that cobra said?"

"Did you notice if it changed to a solid color when it spoke?"

"…When it talked about Gehenna, yeah…come to think of it, when it spoke of you, its hood would shake a little…"

"The hood shaking meant it was a lie. That cobra was indeed a demon sent here from Satan…and that concerns me."

"What's going on, Mephisto?"

"If Satan is getting bolder about setting traps like this, that means we all need to be on our toes."

"In that case, I better increase my training, so I can get stronger and be able to beat Satan into the deepest pit Gehenna has!"

Before Mephisto could say anymore, Kenta leaves with the full intent of getting stronger. The demon king sighs, sinking a little further into the water thinking about what Satan's next move could be. He's made two very bold attempts so far: the first being Amaimon, and now the snake demon. Just what could he be up to?

Deep in thought, he's suddenly startled by his brother barging in, swinging the bathroom door wide open till it hits the wall. He is drenched in juice from a box he slammed his fist on trying to open and requests use of the bath. Mephisto grabs a soaked sponge and throws it in his brother's face telling him to wait till he's done, but quickly questions what else Amaimon splashed the juice on. When the king of earth reveals it splashed over the manga Seiya was carrying with her the day he attacked her, Mephisto flips a lid stating he didn't get the chance to finish it.

"I don't see what the big deal is, brother." Amaimon speaks. "It's just a comic book."

"Grr, it is not JUST a comic book, you ingrate!" Mephisto fires back. "It is one of the most popular manga in Japan!"

"And the one thing that girl got you, correct?" the king of earth asks.

"…Look, do me a favor and leave." the king of time responds. "You've successfully destroyed any solace I tried to create for myself."

"So you can think about her, right?"

Mephisto launches grabbing a nearby back scrubber and throwing it at his brother, but Amaimon quickly shuts the door causing the brush to bounce off it. Chuckling can be heard coming from the king of earth as his brother tries to calm himself.

In the forest, Seiya and Kenta are in the middle of their training, going at it like they're in a life or death battle. Masami, Mizu, and Kyou watch closely, making sure no death blows are being thrown. But then the two charge at each other at a fast enough pace, they swing their blades at each other, miss, and crash into each other falling to the ground. The Familiars hurry over worried, finding that the siblings are alright but a bit stunned. Both are helped up by the Avian demon, the two of them rubbing their foreheads.

"Man…that was a nasty crash…" Kenta says.

Seiya responds, "Yeah, I think we're done for the day."

Leaving the forest, the siblings try to decide what to do next. The mission given was completed, and they called off their training short, leaving them nothing. Seiya then remembers she wanted to research something in the library to which Kenta responds he'll go spend time with Kyou to get to know him. The two head their separate ways, Masami announcing she'd take Mizu to the garden.

At the library, Seiya is trying to learn more about her Knight and Tamer titles. She wants to know how she can launch her flames from her kunai blade without raising suspicion, writing down ideas as to how it could be done. A chair on the opposite side makes a noise catching her attention. She looks up seeing Mephisto with a smile on his face.

She giggles asking, "Normally you give me a head's up before you find me. What's going on?"

"I was just thinking, since you're free, how about I take you to a nightclub tonight?" he responds.

"A nightclub? You mean, go out dancing?"

"Yes, my dear."

"…I dunno…those things are usually crowded…"

"Oh you'll be fine. No one's going to think twice of those fangs of yours. Plus it isn't like you have to talk to everyone there. It'll just be us two, maybe off to the side, dancing the night away."

"B-but, how do you even dress for those things?"

"You just wear something you can easily move in. I know you have a dress or two you can wear."

"Keh, I didn't think Exwires could go off campus like that."

"Fufufufu, not without supervision, my young Seiya~."

In front of the dorm, Kenta finds himself on his own with only Kyou, Ukobach, and Masami for company. With Rin gone on a mission and Yukio himself on a mission, the boy is bored senseless. He's tried calling Hayato, but he was soon called out to aid Yukio, who isn't very far away. Kenta sighs heavily before noticing his sister approaching. She isn't alone this time either; she's with Paku, which surprises the boy as she dropped out of cram school.

He greets the two girls asking Paku what she's been up to as he hasn't seen her around very often. She explains that although she's still friends with Izumo after what happened, she's been working hard focusing on her regular classes, and trying to get Seiya and Izumo to see eye-to-eye. The latter hasn't been going very well, but she suspects that their dislike for each other is the only thing they have in common besides their Familiars. Paku has come to the conclusion that Izumo's only jealous of Seiya because she gets along well with the others, including the director.

Happy to hear she's been doing well, he asks what the girls' plans are thinking maybe he could join in. When Seiya responds she asked Paku to help her choose something to go to a nightclub in, he immediately asks if it's another date with Mephisto. His sister responds that he's only taking her out, she begins to think it could be their second date, but once more drops that suspicion. Mephisto never did say it was a date as it wasn't planned ahead. Kenta already tries to get her to reconsider before being shot a look. He backs down and the girls carry on to the dorm.

That evening, Mephisto waits at the front gate, his pink limo ready to whisk Seiya away to a nightclub. However this time, he is not in his usual outfit, having chosen something less flashy and more casual so he could dance with her; loose but fitting bright medium maroon jeans with a pink tank top covered by a black twill jacket sporting a kanji on the back meaning "love". He also wears black shoes and a pink fisherman's hat with a silver chain going around the base. Seiya finally appears being followed by Paku, Kenta, and Masami to see her off. She's wearing a two-piece dress where the top is a V-neck with short sleeves and the bottom half goes to her knees, fitting loosely like a skirt with a light ruffle. Its main color is jade green, matching her eyes. The ruffle on the bottom half gets lighter in shade while the top half has a simple flower created from rhinestones. She also has on matching colored shoes and gloves, and hasn't removed her necklace.

Mephisto is at a loss for words as he tries to say, "S-Seiya…y-you look beautiful!"

"T-thank you." she speaks nervously. "You look good yourself."

Masami gently nudges her master, getting her to walk to him as she says, "You two have fun tonight. There won't be any need to worry about Mizu; I'll be looking after him."

"You'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow, Seiya." Paku says.

Kenta simply shoots a glare, "You just take good care of her. And no funny business!"

"Relax, my boy, you have my word I won't pull anything with your sister." Mephisto responds looking at her. "Plus, I'm sure she'd deny those advances…"

"Kenta, try to relax tonight, okay? Last thing I need to hear is that you caused trouble." Seiya says.

With that, the two head off to the nightclub. Kenta then grows a smirk on his face. Unknown to the two, he had his Familiar tag along after discovering it could camouflage, melting into his surroundings. The little Tsuchinoko sits on the floor of the limo being still as a tree. He knows his orders – to reveal himself and stop the two from becoming intimate should Seiya allow such advances. With her Aura Sight Ability strained, she won't be able to detect him at all.

Once at the club, Mephisto lets the driver know that he'd contact him once they're out. With that, the driver heads out, possibly back to the academy. The club before them doesn't look like much on the outside, though its name in neon lights is the only focal point. They head over to the entrance and through the doors, where they need to provide an ID. Seiya suddenly realizes she never learned how to drive, so she has no license. Luckily for her, Mephisto already thought ahead and hands her a special ID card with her Exwire status. The bouncers at the front allow them through after paying a small fee and giving them special glowing wrist bands to prove they didn't just sneak in.

The inside of this club is rather large with a small bar hidden away in the back, a few couches and tables just in front of it. A DJ blares the techno music, mixing in his own music style every so often to keep things going. Numerous colored lights decorate the ceiling, some of them strobe lights displaying interesting shapes, moving around in a stiff manner every now and then. A disco ball even hangs high, dim lights bouncing off it as it slowly spins. Seiya is in pure awe of this new place before laying her eyes on the crowd; the club is packed with people dancing wherever they please.

Sensing her growing nervousness, Mephisto leads her to a somewhat private area of the club where the crowd is thinnest. Getting her to dance is the next issue, though the "invisible" Kyou has no problem wriggling and moving around to the beat of the music. Eventually responding to his lead, Seiya finally comes further out of her shell and begins to dance with the king of time. At one point, she gets closer and surprises him by grinding, despite her short stature. The fully distracted Tsuchinoko begins to fail his master by not paying attention as the two start their own "dirty dancing".

In his room, with the stars lighting up the night sky, Kenta looks at the clock on his bed. It's nearly 10:50pm; Seiya and Mephisto left nearly three hours ago. He's tried calling his sister numerous times, even texting, all without a response. The boy sighs, unable to relax. He looks across the hall, his and Seiya's doors wide open in case Masami and Mizu need him. His nerves finally getting the better of him, he leaves his room and walks over to the Okumuras' Room. The door is opened revealing Yukio filling out paper work at his desk. Kenta knocks on the door gaining his attention.

Yukio looks over and says with a gentle smile, "Oh Kenta, you've been so quiet, I forgot you were here. Is something the matter?"

"It's Seiya…" Kenta grumbles, walking in and sitting on Rin's bed. "I've called her and texted her, but she isn't answering.

"Haha, you need to stop worrying so much, Kenta. She is at a nightclub after all, so she probably can't hear her phone. Just let her enjoy herself. I'm sure those two will be back soon; I doubt even Sir Pheles wants to stay out this late."

"Yeah I know. It's just hard taking all this in."

"I'm sure in due time you'll fall in love with a girl, and she'll be a very lucky lady. And by then, you'll understand the feelings Sir Pheles has for Seiya."

"I guess you're right. Hey, you wanna do something, like play a video game? This way the reader doesn't get the idea it's a possible yaoi situation?"

"Reader? What 'reader'? This isn't some story, Kenta."

Meanwhile at the mansion, Amaimon finds himself bored senseless, hanging upside-down from the ceiling holding a wireless controller as he plays a video game. He loses to a difficult opponent and nonchalantly drops the controller and it falls onto the floor, the buttons popping out from the impact. The king of earth returns to an upright position landing on the floor and checks his cell phone. Nearly twice as many calls and texts were sent to his brother with no response in return. Though now he hasn't bothered after he figured out Mephisto shut his phone off, or has turned off the vibration.

He sighs saying, "How bothersome…just what does he see in this Seiya anyway? She doesn't seem so special to me, just an item father's looking for. Hmm, maybe I'm missing something."

Around nearly midnight, the pink limo returns to the academy. Mephisto is first to climb out and goes to help Seiya out of the car, but she trips nearly falling over. He catches her asking if she's okay, but is answered with a series of giggle-snorts. Both of their faces are only a little red, but Seiya is the only one stumbling about. Kyou slithers out the car and hurries over to the old dormitory. The girl continues to stumble to which Mephisto picks her up quickly discovering his mistake as she lightly nibbles his ear. His other ear lowers with a worried look on his face thinking of the hell Kenta is going to give him.

Meanwhile at the dorm, Kenta is destroying Yukio as they play a game on their DS systems. Just as Yukio loses, Kyou enters the room coming out of his camouflage ability. Sweat drops from his head, eyes comically bulging out of his head with a frantic look saying everything.

"The hell? Kyou, what's going on?" Kenta asks.

Kyou speaks trying to catch his breath, "I…I failed! The music…the music was…intoxicating! I couldn't resist it…"

Yukio looks over at Kenta who is about to explode with rage, but switches gaining that "oh shit" look as Yukio demands, "Kenta, did you send Kyou to spy on Sir Pheles and Seiya?"

"Uh, ah, uh, w-what? O-of course not, hahaha! What would give you that idea? It was Kyou's idea!" Kenta responds nervously.

Kyou argues, "What? Hey, you're the paranoid demon around here; I was only following orders!"

The Tsuchinoko's solid color switch says everything. Yukio responds, "Augh, you and Rin are almost exactly alike! What did I just get through telling you two hours ago?"

"What? I don't like him!" Kenta replies.

The quiet halls are then filled with giggling. The boys peek out of the doorway catching Mephisto walking into Seiya's room. Masami and Mizu are peacefully sleeping in a mass of blankets the avian made to create a make-shift nest. The king of time places Seiya on her bed hoping maybe the familiar surrounding will calm her down, but she grabs his goatee and pulls him in, quickly wrapping her arms around him. He is unable to free himself from her grip until he manages to tickle her belly. This works as she lets go in order to stop him from tickling her. He breathes a sigh of relief until the boys enter the room with perplexed expressions.

Mephisto rubs the back of his head with a nervous look saying, "Oh, Kenta, Yukio, I didn't think you two were up!"

"Uh, Sir Pheles, what's wrong with her?" Yukio questions.

"Well…we took a break at one point to grab a drink at the bar; she got herself water and I went for a cocktail. She got curious and wanted to taste it, but I tried telling her she wouldn't like it-" Mephisto tries to explain before Kenta interrupts, "Hold on! You're saying my sister tried alcohol?! She's underage!"

"Um, Kenta," Yukio says, "the legal drinking age here is 20. Seiya's 20."

Mephisto goes on, "Anyway, when I went to use the restroom after the cocktail, I come back and find her having ordered herself the same cocktail I had. She's quite the lightweight and a sneak; I've never seen anything like it before…"

"What did you put in the cocktail?" Yukio asks.

"Nothing THAT heavy, I can assure you!" Mephisto responds. "I don't know how to get her sober either."

Kenta demands, "How many did she have?"

"Only one." Mephisto answers, gaining "wtf" looks from the boys.

Yukio regains his composure, fixes his glasses and says, "I think I might know how to snap her out of it. I just hope Ukobach won't kill me for disturbing him."

"No, he won't kill you for that." Mephisto says. "I just hope she can be cured of this…"

Seiya giggles uncontrollably saying with her words slightly slurred, "Hey Mephy-kun, we-we should uh, uhm…wait, where'd that Domo-kun guy go? Ah who cares! But we should get um…a giant bounce house made of balloons, and, uh, g-give it to Satan so he calls off that s-stupid invasion bullshit."

All of them look at her before Kyou says, "Oh is she gonna have a hangover in the morning."


	15. Intruder Alert

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 15:  
Intruder Alert**

"Come on, Kenta! This isn't funny!" Seiya shouts, pulling her brother by his pants.

"NO! I HATE AMUSEMENT PARKS! THEY GIVE ME THE CREEPS!" Kenta argues, hanging onto a lamppost as tight as possible.

It's the start of a new day and a new mission as a class. Everyone is waiting at the entrance of MepphyLand, watching as the Takenaka Siblings struggle with each other. Kyou and Masami don't even know what to make of this situation.

Seiya starts up pulling as best she can, "Kenta, you do realize we've never even BEEN to an amusement park, right? Plus, THE DAMN PLACE IS CLOSED FOR OUR MISSION!"

Kenta responds tightening his grip, "I DON'T CARE! THEY STILL CREEP ME OUT!"

"For the love of Christ, LET GO OF THE POLE!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR FUTURE NIECES AND NEPHEWS, LET GO OF MY PANTS!"

That's when Kenta's pants begin to tare from the sides. Seiya, pulling even more suddenly finds herself against the pavement holding the now fully torn pants and swirls for eyes from her head hitting the ground too hard. The group almost can't keep from laughing when they see the younger sibling's boxers; they are mostly rainbow with differently colored Nyan Cats all over it.

Yukio can only facepalm saying, "Oh man, this is going to be such a long day…"

"You know, I actually feel bad for her now." Izumo says.

"Hahaha, poor Seiya!" Bon laughs trying to calm down. "It's hard to believe the two are related!"

Tsubaki calls over, "Kenta, if you don't participate in the mission, you fail!"

Kenta turns to look at him, red faced and glaring, "LIKE I HAVEN'T BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY!"

Several minutes later, the group is within the park and have been paired up in groups of two. The Takanaka Siblings are naturally paired with each other, much to Seiya's dismay as she would rather have been paired with Izumo with the way things are going. Today they are looking for a mischievous ghost that has the form of a little boy that has been causing quite a stir in the park. As the older sibling stated earlier, the park has been closed for 24 hours so the Exwires may have enough time to find the ghost. Yukio ends it all saying once the ghost has been caught to contact him or Tsubaki. With that, everyone splits up.

The siblings take a path that will lead them to the Ferris Wheel when Kenta jumps on his sister's back, only to have her lose all balance and collapse to the ground. Masami pulls him off demanding why he did that. He responds wanting to be carried because his heart won't stop pounding. Seiya threatens to tear off his boxers if he doesn't stop his childish behavior. With no choice, he follows his sister to the Ferris Wheel. Frustrated, Seiya texts Mephisto asking if she could drop the mission and spend time with him instead, not wanting to put up with her brother another second.

The king of time's response:  
_:.( Sorry my dear, but if you drop this mission, then you'd get a failing grade, and I'm positive you wouldn't want that. But, if you'd like afterwards, perhaps we could go out to a spa and fall into a blissful ecstasy of pure relaxation ;.) 3_

Her eye twitches, "{Damn it all! Well, as long as he promises the spa thing, I guess it'll be worth it… I could use a nice massage after falling flat on my back.}"

After responding to Mephisto, she texts the others to see if they found the ghost yet, aiming for effective communication at least. They all reply that neither of them have spotted it yet, though Rin's response looks like it was cut short. Seiya takes that as he and Shiemi found it.

Just then, a noise of metal hitting the ground scares Seiya, causing her to draw her kunai blade. Masami points out that Kenta hid himself under a trash can. Angrily facepalming, Seiya tells her brother she'll leave him there with Kyou while she goes to find Rin and Shiemi to aid them. He doesn't respond, to which Seiya uses her Aura Sight Ability. Luckily, it isn't straining anymore, and she finds him in seconds almost nearby.

"Let's hurry, Masami. We can get this mission out of the way a lot faster if we catch up to them." Seiya says.

"But, what about your brother?" Masami asks. "Are you sure you want to leave him like that?"

"What other choice do I have? I mean rea—" Seiya goes to reply when she feels a surge of Satan's power, fading in and out. "…Rin's in trouble!"

"Let's go then!" the Avian replies, Seiya jumping on her back.

Kyou watches and sighs. "Kenta, the girls are leaving…"

No answer.

"Um, Kenta?"

Still nothing.

"{Why'd I choose him again? Oh right, the girl has two Familiars already….f*ck me…}"

In front of the golden Mephisto statue, Amaimon stands on the very top, pulling Kurikara in and out of the sheath, studying its effects. He theorizes while the power comes from Gehenna, Rin's body remains in Assiah. Once the king of earth finally decides to keep the sword out of the sheath, Seiya and Masami arrive on the scene. Seiya's eyes widen in shock; last she saw him he was stuck in a rusted vehicle. Her heart begins to race as she fills up with fear from her last encounter.

Rin shouts taking notice, "Seiya! You need to get out of here! Remember the last time we ran into this creep?"

Amaimon says, "{Ugh, she's here, just what I needed…to get into more trouble. Hmm…} You know, you should do as he says. Unless you want me to remove one of your eyes."

White flames start to burn through Seiya's gloves, her fear beginning to turn to anger. Masami can sense her master is beginning to lose control, but for her sake, the avian refuses to turn on her master. Not wanting her to interfere, Rin makes a bold move and sends a series of flames her way. Masami dodges the warning shot and to her the message is clear, but Seiya on the other hand has something else in mind.

She growls, "You bastard…" her eyes begin to glow a bright red color, "You nearly killed Mephisto! I could've lost him that day!" The flames bypass her gloves completely causing her to remove them. "But now…I'LL TAKE YOUR LIFE FOR NEARLY STEALING MINE!"

Rin's eyes widen astonished, "{Whoa! What's going on with her?} Seiya, please! Back away! Don't get yourself caught up in this! It's my problem right now!"

Amaimon is actually amazed at this power he's sensing from the girl, his lips almost curling into a smile. "Ahhh, so you want to play then, huh? You know, I was told to keep as far from you as possible if I valued my own life. Keh, forget the eyeball!"

Rin attacks the king of earth but he dodges, landing on the metal beams that make up the rollercoaster. Rin's attack breaks off the statue's head. Masami is not sure what to do; she wants to help Seiya, but with the way she is, reasoning is futile. She decides to allow Seiya to join in the fight, and make a hasty decision to fly back to Kenta.

As she flies away she thinks, "{Young Master…I do not wish to turn on you. You're such a kind girl. But, I can't be near too many powerful auras…just what are you?}" A tear falls from her eye, already thinking the worst.

"Seiya!" Rin tries to say. "Please, just go find Kenta! I don't want you getting hurt!"

Seiya looks at him, and his heart nearly leaps a mile. Her beautiful jade eyes are a burning red, the irises shaped like a four-pointed star. He can see it in her eyes, there's nothing left of the Seiya he knows. Then he notices something…tears are streaming down her face. She looks back at Amaimon who starts to taunt the both of them. Rin has no idea what to think. The girl he looks at now is not the same he's been training since she became a Page.

Amaimon speaks having backflipped onto a higher beam, "Hey, this is an amusement park, right? I have some free time to play, so how 'bout we do just that?"

He snaps his fingers and the park comes to life. This catches everyone's attention, putting them all on high alert. Save of course, for the mischievous ghost getting Shiemi to chase him all over the place, when she learns that he only wants to have fun. Although Rin thinks that ability was cool, Amaimon taunts the two of them. Rin goes after him but is kicked to the ground by Seiya who leaps after the king of earth with a crazed look in her eyes. Amaimon dodges her attack as she creates claws from her flames over her hands; she's ready for close-range combat. The girl slashes at the green-haired demon who has trouble avoiding her attacks; she's gotten stronger since the last time, but not the way he expected.

Despite their short encounter, even he can tell this is not the weak girl he attacked before. He sees the power Satan has been sensing for five years. It clearly isn't demonic, but Amaimon can't tell what it could be. Rin suddenly pops up from behind and goes for a punch, but the king of earth jumps higher up causing the two to clash; Rin accidentally punches Seiya in the face while she accidentally slashes him across the chest. If it weren't for his demonic form being active, Rin would've suffered a lot of damage.

Elsewhere, Masami has found herself unable to move. She had crashed long ago into a ball pit, her head just barely sticking out of the balls. Likewise at the dorm, Mizu finds himself crippled with pain, leaving Kuro and Ukobach highly concerned and worried not knowing what action to take. Just as Ukobach decides to contact Mephisto, him being the only other person around to get a hold of, Mizu's eyes open wide. Kuro takes notice asking the Familiar if he's okay. Just then, spines begin to emerge all over Mizu's body, starting from where his head and neck meet. His claws grow large, and his fangs grow from both his lower and upper jaws, sticking out of his mouth. His eyes become a wild glowing yellow color, and he unleashes a deafening roar.

"_{Ah, Ukobach, what's going on? This isn't Baby Mizu at all!}_" Kuro flinches.

The demon chef looks on in fear, "_…No… S-something's happened to Seiya!_"

"_{What? Seiya's in trouble?}_"

"_Think about it, Kuro! When your Shiro died, you turned into a demon. Something is obviously happening to Seiya, otherwise…Mizu wouldn't be turning into a true demon himself! We can't let him escape the dorm! Quick, barricade the doors!_"

"_{How am I supposed to do that? Yukio has the keys!}_"

Mizu then begins to grow larger, reaching the size of a full-grown tiger. Ukobach and Kuro look on as it almost looks like Mizu had a growth spurt, and has an appearance of a dragon instead of an adorable chimera. His tail has evolved from that of a seal to three whipping tails, and his horns have grown out like a ram's. With no other choice, Kuro decides to enter his demon form, matching Mizu's size as he tells Ukobach to get help. Mizu rams into Kuro, throwing the cat sidhe into the air and sprays him with his water jet. Kuro takes more damage than before being pinned against the ceiling for several seconds.

The attack ends and he collapses to the floor. As Kuro struggles to get up, he feels pressure on his throat…it's Mizu, pressing his claw on his friend's throat. Ukobach can't rush for help now. He assumes his minotaur form and tackles Mizu, sending him down the hall. The two Familiars have found themselves in a desperate struggle with what was Mizu.

Back at the park, Masami is going through a similar transformation. Her wings take the shape of a thunder cloud, her tail looks like someone shredded it to bits all frilly, her crown having taken the shape of two horns going backwards in an S-shape, and the crest now looks like a spiky skull and crossbones. Her amber eyes now glow a menacing orange, and her beak is no longer a hookbill, but pointed like a heron's. She bursts out of the ball pit letting out a horrible screech that everyone else can hear. Her size has also increased, going from 5'03" to a whopping 10'00". Down below, Kyou catches sight of the enraged bird and tries to get Kenta's attention, but the boy has fainted, his flames just barely able to counter all the auras around him.

Elsewhere in the park, the group begins to think the worst has happened to Seiya, dismissing the fact that it could be a ghost. Something else is going on, and it's affecting Masami. Yukio has no clue what to think at this point, but hurries to the roller coaster, having seen something fall from one of the hills a little bit ago.

Back at the coaster, in their struggle with Amaimon, Rin has lost control on himself, his eyes in an odd shape. Seiya has lost more control of herself, her pupils having taken the form of a four-pointed star, tilted in a way that the small points stick out from her irises, giving it the look of an eight-pointed star. As Rin throws metal beams at the demon king, Seiya fires off two large streams of flames, all of which Amaimon narrowly dodges.

"{Jeez!}" Amaimon thinks. "{I was only supposed to play with our little brother, not the girl! It's really hard having any kind of fun with her around…and her aura…it's only angering me. Big Brother, just what have you fallen for?}"

Pretty soon, Rin tackles Amaimon, the two of them going into a brief roll with Rin coming out on top, holding the earth king down by his throat. Rin's flames go insane, with Amaimon smiling starting to have a little fun. He slams his fist to the ground, causing a small earthquake that forces beams free from the coaster, and one pierces through an inflatable bounce house with a ball pit; Shiemi and the ghost are inside it. She wades through the ball pit eventually becoming free, but finds herself trapped as the inflatable house starts to slowly collapse over her. Nii-chan grows tough branches, similar to the ones from their Exwire exam, to try and protect the two of them.

Both Rin and Seiya hear her screams. Rin is the one to run to her, telling her in his mind to run. He knows he won't make it, and fires a stream of fire knocking the house backwards. Nii-chan makes the barrier disappear, landing on the ground. The ghost flies around filled with joy despite the fact Shiemi could've died. The little boy ghost restates what he told her and Rin earlier, that he was very sick and never was able to play, was never held, or even scolded. He thanks Shiemi before disappearing, his only wish having been fulfilled.

A horrible screech fills the air, catching her attention. She looks up spotting the enraged Masami, although it appears as if after all this, she still refuses to attack. Shiemi gets up and with her Familiar hurries over to the bird, oblivious to the battle occurring nearby.

Reaching his exhaustion, Rin is on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath. He is pushed to the ground by Amaimon stomping on him, rubbing his heel into the boy's back. Seiya goes in for the attack, but this time, Amaimon holds out the Kurikara in defense. A sinister looks grows on his face.

"Hehehehe! You know, my brother told me to hold back. I was just thinking about breaking this sword, but what better fun for you to do it instead, Seiya! C'mon! Break the sword!" Amaimon says.

At that moment, the sword reacts to Seiya's flames, mixing its with them trying to fight them off. Eventually, the blue flames win, and Seiya is sent back a few feet before going into a log roll. She stops herself and tries to stand up, but the threat Kurikara felt reflects in Rin, and under its spell, mindlessly fires another stream of flames her way. The girl realizes she cannot dodge, until something jumps in front and protects her. It's Kenta, having woken up, his flames bursting with energy. He is the only here in full control. The boy has countered the blue flames with his own sword, which is on fire as well.

The purple flames catch Amaimon's curiosity as he says, "Yay, a new player has joined the party! Seems I've really started a fire here. This is great!"

At that moment someone speaks, "Sever the head of the snake that…" and pulls out a sword from their chest and attacks, "…devoured the eight princesses!"

Amaimon dodges the attack demanding to know who the cloaked person is. Kenta recognizes the person; it's one of his classmates, one of two people that did nothing while the ghoul demon attacked during the exam. The cloaked Exwire seems to know who Amaimon is, demanding to know if Mephisto let him in as they help up Rin, who is more than worn out. They say to each other that the other is in the way, caught in the middle of a silent standoff. Eventually, Amaimon decides to sheath Kurikara and toss it back to Rin. He also pulls out something and tosses it to Kenta saying it has a certain scent on it that only Seiya would detect before he jumps away; it's a small Dialga plushie. Seiya's nose begins to twitch.

She utters, her voice sounding raspy, "Th-that scent…M-Mephisto…?"

Her star-shaped eyes slowly return to normal as her flames subside. Once she's finally calmed down, Kenta hands her the plushie. Seiya drops to her knees with a more than confused look on her face asking what just happened. Her brother's flames subside as well as he sheaths his blade. Kyou emerges from his coat pocket, wiping away a bead of sweat from his head glad everything is over.

Likewise, this calming of the aura affects Masami. She has returned to her non-demonic form, but no longer has the strength to move, being supported by Shiemi. At the dorm, Mizu is being held down by a beaten Kuro and an injured Ukobach. The baby Familiar senses the change in his master and passes out, quickly returning to his non-demonic form, a small baby chimera. When they sense the danger's passed, both Kuro and Ukobach breathe a sigh of relief as they return to their non-demonic forms. Ukobach holds his left arm; it's been dislocated from the shoulder. Luckily for him, that's his worst injury. Kuro walks over, and with a swift kick, pops the Satyr demon's arm back into place.

Back at the park, the cloaked Exwire has hurried off somewhere, telling Rin to hide his tail. As Rin realizes he's barely changed from when he was a kid, – unable to control himself when pushed too far – Seiya clutches tightly to the Dialga plushie, her eyes wide with terror. Her brother can't get through to her. All Kenta can do, is sit beside his shaken sister, wrap his arms around her, and wait for her to calm down. Shiemi suddenly appears with a barely awake Masami, seeing that Rin and Seiya are not in good conditions. Masami walks to the Takenaka siblings and nuzzles Seiya, happy to know she's back to normal. Shiemi tries to ask Rin if he's okay, to which he brushes of his injuries asking about the ghost. She responds that he disappeared after thanking her, and tells Rin that they should return to the park some time.

Yukio finally appears asking if everyone's alright. Clearly, Seiya is not; Shiemi tells the young Exorcist that Rin needs medical attention. The cloaked Exwire returns, walking in as if nothing happened, saying they had to make a move because Yukio took too long. Yukio recognizes the voice, prompting Rin and Kenta to question who the person is. The cloaked Exwire removes the hooded sweatshirt along with some wrapping of some kind, causing both Kenta and Rin to react comically to this new appearance.

The person standing before them is actually female, topless with only a small bra, reddish marking on her belly and chest, and red and blonde mixed long hair.

She speaks, "The Vatican dispatched me here to investigate risk factors in the Japanese Branch. I'm Shura Kirigakure, High Inspector, Upper First Class Exorcist."

Kenta blushes madly before growing a perverted smile, "Hehehe…such luscious breasts you have there, Shura-san…"


	16. Big Bang Effect

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 16:  
Big Bang Effect**

Shura ignores Kenta's comment, flashing her Exorcist ID and pin. Tsubaki introduces himself about to pull out his badge, but she says she doesn't need to see it. She looks at him stating that she'll be taking Rin to the Japan Branch of the Vatican, and for Mephisto to be there even if it means dragging him there. However, before she scoops up Rin, her eyes drift towards the Takenaka Siblings. Seiya is shaken up and doesn't respond to anything while her brother stays wrapped around her, shooting Shura a nasty look.

"{I don't remember being told much about those two, only about Rin. Then again, they didn't live in the monastery…but something tells me Mephisto really is hiding something.} Hmm, you two over there, follow me." Shura thinks.

"Huh? Why should we follow you? Can't you see my sister's having some kind of breakdown?" Kenta growls.

Shura looks at the plushie Seiya clutches and says, "If you follow me, Mephisto will be there."

Seiya looks over at Shura who has a smile on her face. She asks her, voice raspy, "H-how do you know Mephisto?"

Yukio walks up to Shura and says quietly, "Wait, Shura. I'm aware of why you're here, but you can't be after the Takenaka Siblings too. They have no alliance with Satan, and are in no way related to him. They're innocent in all this."

Shura quietly responds, "I know, but that girl is way too shaken, and I know that plushie is from Mephisto himself; she's clutching it very tightly, which means his scent calmed her from whatever possible rage she experienced. If he was smart, he wouldn't be hiding two other demons too."

"But Seiya's not a demon!" Yukio argues quietly. "Neither of us knows what she is, but not a demon."

"Then what's with those fangs?" Shura points out. "Something's up and I wanna know what."

Seiya interrupts trying to stand, "Hey, answer me! How do you know Mephisto? What's going on here?"

"I wanna know the same thing; this is getting messed up." Rin says.

Shura sighs saying, "Look, I'll keep things simple. All three of you come with me to Japan Branch HQ. You'll get your answers."

"…Tch, I don't know about this, Sis. Can we trust her?" Kenta asks.

Seiya asks, "Will Mephy really be there?"

"{The hell? Why is she so fixated on him?}" Kenta thinks.

Shura smiles saying, "Oh I know he will. Come on now, Seiya."

Masami then stands in front of her master, wings weakly held up as wide as she could make them go, her body shaking from pain. The avian stares angrily at Shura, her defeated appearance saying everything. Shura is amazed at this Familiar; despite the fact her master is in complete shock from her losing control, she still chooses not to turn.

The avian speaks, "Young Master goes nowhere. We Familiars can feel what mental stress our masters go through…normally when their hearts weaken, we turn on our masters and attack. Not me. I've gotten to know my master better than any other Summoned Familiar. Not to mention, I've grown attached to Assiah as well. While I refuse the urge to turn, I'll have no trouble attacking you. She's been through enough, and to lure her with the promise of Sir Pheles being wherever you plan on taking these kids is just pathetic."

Shiemi tries to reason, "Masami please, you've been through enough yourself, and now you're hurt, probably more than Rin. Just stand down this one time."

Even Nii-chan says, "_{Yeah Masami, listen! You're too hurt to thwow even a small spark. I don't sense any evil coming fwom this woman.}_"

Masami looks at Shiemi and her little Greenman. She sighs, before collapsing. She says, "You're right…the hell was I thinking…"

"Masami…" Seiya tries to speak.

Rin is surprised at the overly loyal Air Demon. Shura approaches the defeated bird, places a hand on her wing and assures her that her master will be fine; she only wants to ask a few questions. Kyou decides he's had enough and joins Masami, trying to offer some comfort. Shura stands, walks over to Rin, and grabs him in a non-threatening headlock, making sure he's unable to try anything. Shiemi makes her way to Masami and helps her stand back up. The Takenaka Siblings follow Shura out of the park.

Along with Yukio who has dismissed the class announcing the mission's over, the group of five approach a door marked "Staff Only". Yukio inserts a Warp Key into the door, and they are brought to an underground base. Shura explains that this is the Japan Branch's base, and that the Vatican's HQ is located under St. Peter's Cathedral. She also goes on that there are branches all over the globe that connect to that one single point. Since the Exorcists apparently keep things as secretive as possible, they've been carrying the burden of exorcising demons for nearly two-thousand years. They hear a familiar voice indicating Shura's correct, welcoming them to the Japan Branch of the Knights of the True Cross. To the boys' surprise, it's Mephisto standing with Tsubaki, though dressed only slightly differently. He has traded his usual attire for something more appropriate, being a white jacket that reaches mid-thigh, pink dress pants, and black dress shoes; even his big top hat is missing.

Shura looks back at Kenta saying, "See, I told ya he'd be here."

"Of course I would; being absent in a case like this would be very rude." Mephisto responds. "However Shura, although it's nice to see you again, I'm impressed you've snuck into the academy to spy on us. I had no clue. Hm?"

He looks at Seiya who has hung her head, her bangs covering her eyes. The others look at her equally as confused, until she runs to Mephisto, wrapping his arms around him and burying her face in his chest crying hysterically.

"…{Damn…so she did encounter Amaimon…good thing I prepared for this and gave him that plushie with my scent on it, or she'd be uncontrollable still.}" Mephisto thinks, having thought ahead.

It's then Shura begins to demand the king of time why he kept Rin hidden all this time, and although he gives her a bit of a run around, he tells her that he's raising a weapon to use against Satan. He goes on to say that after all this time, all they've done is fight a defensive battle. Now they have the opportunity to switch to the offensive. She restates the question, to which the tricky headmaster reveals that his power isn't at its greatest, so there isn't any point in presenting the Grigori with a "half-finished project". Shura asks if Shiro had anything to do with the scheme. Mephisto responds saying that there isn't a scheme, that Shiro raised Rin as a human until he discovered his powers.

Seemingly satisfied with the answers, she asks about the Takenaka Siblings. Mephisto responds that Satan had planned a backup if Rin were to fail in some way. Kenta is the descendant of a demon from the Rot Tribe. Despite the fact the siblings share the same mother, their fathers were different, and Seiya's was human. Neither of them knew of their powers until the night their demonic father brainwashed their mother, and Kenta had no choice but to kill them in order to protect his sister. Seiya's powers though don't harm humans and only damage demons, but he still has no idea what she is. He also tells the First Class Exorcist about the night he and Amaimon fought, and that he himself nearly died until Seiya used an ability she had no clue of and saved his life. The only drawback was she accidentally absorbed some of his power, and it gave her fangs as a result. The king of time then gets a little defensive stating they are in fact in love with each other, which surprises Shura.

"So you see Shura," he concludes, "the Takenaka Siblings have a five year history with me already. They were educated privately away from the others so that Kenta would not lose control of his powers. Seiya refused to use hers again until recently, but has not yet gained full control of them. Her brother, on the other hand, has full control over his powers as opposed Rin. Lastly, Rin and Yukio have been actively training Seiya since she started Cram School, but she still has a long way to go."

"…I see." Shura says. "So what are they then in the case of going on the attack?"

"I've already told young Seiya this, but they are considered weapons as well. Again, Kenta's the only one who's fully trained. All he needs to work on is keeping his emotions in check." Mephisto responds.

"So only one is a complete project, and the other two aren't even close, huh? What a mess you're in, Mephisto." Shura says. "Either way, I'd like to interrogate all three of them. I'd also like use of the Great Cell to do so."

Mephisto answers, "You may use the cell, but, I'm afraid Seiya is in no way able to be interrogated right now. I'm sure you can see that very clearly."

Shura responds, "Sorry, but feelings aside, she's a part of this as much as Rin is. I need to take her too."

Seiya stops crying, looking back at the woman thinking, "{Wait, she promises me Mephy, but then wants to take me away from him? This bitch is cruel!}"

Even her brother dislikes how much of corner Shura's backed Mephisto into, "{Despite her nice, big, bouncy boobs, I'm really starting to hate this woman. Sis won't be able to snap out of her shock if she's torn away from that bastard.}"

Mephisto sighs, "Pardon my french on this one, but you sure know how to grab me by the balls, don't you?"

"Always have." Shura replies with a smirk. "Let's go Seiya, we're wasting time here."

"Why can't I stay with him?" Seiya argues turning to face the Exorcist. "Why take me away so quickly?"

"{Oh boy…} Seiya, I'm sorry my dear, but I really can't argue with her. Not unless you want her neutering me first, which I don't think either of us want." Mephisto reasons.

Seiya lowers her head. "…Damn. Fine."

"But like I told you earlier," Mephisto whispers into her ear, "we can still get some much needed pampering at a spa after~."

Shura looks on confused, "{The girl needs bribing? Just what the hell does he see in her?}"

As Seiya walks over with a pouty expression on her face, Yukio tries to reason with Shura about interrogating all three of them. He knows the three well and could answer any questions she has. However, she brushes him off only commenting that he got taller since their last encounter telling him to go home and rest as she walks off with the three. Seiya can't help but look back at everyone, having a very bad feeling resting in her stomach. She clutches the plushie so tightly that it would be dead from asphyxiation if it were alive.

At the great cell, the door looks more like it belongs on a huge incinerator. Shura appears to be the only one able to open it, and tosses Rin inside; the Takenaka Siblings walk into the large chamber. The three of them can tell something's up as there is no table and no chairs present. Not to mention, a true interrogation room would be much smaller and include a window where the cops can watch from outside, but those within the room cannot see outside through that same window. Seiya finds herself tucked away in a corner nearest the door with Rin and Kenta standing far from Shura.

Shura looks over at Seiya, who is back to suffering from her shock. "{She's really freaked out. But…I don't see a single scratch on her, so…Amaimon couldn't have touched her at all. If what Mephisto says is true, that she has no control over her powers just from not using them for five years…then her fear just returned in its worst form.}"

Rin calls, "Hey! Leave Seiya out of this for now. Back there you said you knew the old man. What did you mean by that?"

Shura turns her attention to Rin answering, "I was a disciple of his."

Confused, Rin thinks she was a nun, though she responds saying she never once prayed to God in her life. She reveals when she was younger, she lived in some bad times before Shiro came to her rescue and took her in, some time before the Okumura Twins were born.

She thinks back to the day Shiro asked her to train Rin should anything ever happened to him. He brings up the fact that Kurikara would be in Rin's hands at some point; it won't be able to keep the power sealed for long. Angered thinking Shiro is becoming weak and fearful in his old age, she flat out denies his request, turning and storming off.

Kenta asks, "Just who is this old man everyone keeps speaking of? Like, I know he's Rin and Yukio's dad, but just what was he?"

"He was the strongest Exorcist, the only one who held the rank of Paladin. He also doubled as a Priest, albeit a perverted one, but he always took care of those who sought his help." Shura replies.

"…{Sounds like someone I could really use right now, since Mephy can't do anything, or he'll be in trouble. But…would Shiro do this sort of thing too?}" Seiya wonders, loosening her grip on the plushie.

At that moment, Shura appears as if she's in pain, grabbing onto her shoulder. The boys walk over to see if she's okay, only for her trick to go to plan, stealing Kurikara away from Rin. She teases him about it, only to witness that Rin's powers activate regardless of the sword being drawn or not. Kenta keeps his sword sheathed, having a feeling he may need to prove his own strength without it. He smirks knowing he can indeed pull it off. Rin goes on the attack as Shura dodges, amazed that his sword cannot control his power anymore.

When Rin spins around he sees Shura summon her sword from the mark on her chest. Seiya's interest is captured, but her fear of what's going on around her grows. The white flames reappear on her hands, responding to the fear. Rin demands to know what's up, but when Shura replies she was sent in to see if Mephisto and Shiro were conspiring since the Blue Night, she was given orders to exterminate the son of Satan. She even mentions that to the untrained eye, the blue flames are proof positive. Without anymore words, she uses a technique called Snake Fang, sending several crescent-shaped blades of wind right at Rin.

Using his own powers, Kenta moves in front of Rin and counters the blades, showing off his own powers; he had countered sending perfectly round blades of fire at the attack with his sword. His flames just barely dance off his neck, wrist, and tail. Seiya is amazed at this; through their training, she had never seen this technique before. Even Shura can't believe what just happened.

Kenta smirks saying, "You like it? I developed this technique over the years in an attempt to learn to control my own powers. It wasn't easy; it took all those long years to get right. I like to call it, Ring of Perfection Technique."

Impressed Shura says, "Well, well, so you really do have full control, huh? And look at you… I can feel it. You're being completely calm about the situation. However…what if I were to attack your sister?"

Without realizing it, Kenta is suddenly in the First Class Exorcist's face, surprising all three. Seiya can't fathom where these abilities are coming from; he's never displayed them before. Kenta then plays dirty, grabbing Shura's breasts to distract her going in quickly for a headbutt, catching her completely off-guard. She falls to the ground from the blow, sitting up and rubbing her forehead. Kenta then holds his blade to her throat, but in an interesting twist, sheaths the sword and cancels his flames.

He states, "Any demon in that position would've killed you without hesitation, no second thoughts, nothing. Your blood would be all over the ground. But despite my demonic heritage, that isn't me. I was born a human, raised a human…and I demand respect as a human! Satan can go f*ck himself for all I care! So long as I'm able to protect those I care about, I will never lose control of my powers."

The young boy finishes his statement with a flashy move, sending a fireball into the air as it soon explodes like a firework. His sister is still unable to register in her mind what she's witnessing. Circular fire blades? Great agility? Even using his flames to show off? This made no sense to her. The sound of laughter soon snaps her out of her thoughts.

Shura laughs very impressed and says, "Well, it isn't hard to see where you stand. Then let me ask you this: if Seiya were to die or your sword were to break, would you lose control then?"

Kenta looks away distraught saying, "To be honest, I'm not sure. This sword was made so my powers would be in check, and Seiya stayed close to me so my powers remained quiet. But over the years, I've learned to work with my sword, and I can distance myself from my sister without losing control at all. Sure, my emotions get in the way, and I'm working on that. So to say I'd lose control if I lose either…it might actually happen."

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not out to exterminate you or Seiya." Shura responds standing up. "I'm only out to take care of the son of Satan, which clearly you're not. Still, you protected Rin, yet you state you're not aligned with Satan. Pretty confusing…"

Rin calls out regaining the Exorcist's attention, "He already proved he's not on Satan's side! And neither am I! Your deal is with me, not them!"

"Hm, you're right." Shura says, before looking at Seiya. "However, I still need to see where she stands."

Getting defensive about the shocked Seiya, Rin rushes at Shura, getting ready for a jab. She dodges the attack, quickly sending a single Snake Fang at him. Realizing it's purposely aimed at Seiya, Rin takes the blow and charges quickly from the resulting smoke cloud. Kenta positions himself in front of his sister, ready to block any attack sent her way.

"{Damn, this trio's pretty tough. Although, it's more of a duo at this point.}" Shura thinks as she and Rin exchange attacks. "{Another thing too, this kid's attacks are sloppy! He has no real strategy, and his attacks are all over the place. Compared to Kenta, who knows what he's doing, Rin wouldn't be able to leave a scratch on Satan.}"


	17. Dust Cloud

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 17:  
Dust Cloud**

Shura and Rin go back and forth exchanging attacks, with Rin unable to land a single blow. Kenta keeps his position in front of his sister, who has started to watch the battle, fearful that Rin just might die here. Eventually, Shura uses another technique, Absolute Emptiness, in which ghostly snakes are sent towards Rin. Although, what she didn't count on was that the snakes were not only aimed at Rin, they kept going and sweep through the Takenaka Siblings. This technique completely diminishes the boys' demonic powers, but since Seiya is not a demon, it accidentally does something else.

All are unaware of the danger growing as Shura stabs Rin in and through his shoulder. Shura simply tells Rin to just die, until he surprises her, grabbing the sword with both hands. He proclaims his refusal to go down, that he will become a great Exorcist like his father. Rin goes on saying that once he becomes a Paladin, that everyone will have to accept the fact that Shiro was right. Shura taunts him not to make her laugh, until a thought crosses her mind…_He's an amusing one_, echoes in her mind in Shiro's voice.

Finally coming to a realization that Shiro was raising a son and not a weapon, Shura pulls the sword out of his shoulder and bursts into laughter. She can see that Rin does indeed deserve a chance to prove himself, and ceases her elimination of him. However, this good feeling is cut short when Kenta is sent flying across the room and into an opposite wall. Rin and Shura look to find not an _enraged_ Seiya, but one who has lost full control of herself. The elder Okumura Twin senses something within the elder Takenaka Sibling; it isn't fear, anger, sadness, or any emotion. It is like she is void of emotion. Shura can see this in the blank eyes Seiya now stares on with; her irises and pupils nowhere to be seen, like her eyes had rolled back completely.

Shura realizes then that her Absolute Emptiness Technique must've sparked something within Seiya's unknown powers. Seiya's fangs have grown slightly, her flames dance on her hands up to her elbows as well as on her feet to her knees. On her head sits what appears to be a segmented halo.

That halo sends a shiver down Shura's spine as she says, "Y-you were right! She really isn't a demon!"

"Then, the hell is she? Her flames only harm demons and not humans." Rin asks.

"I…I don't know! In all my years as an Exorcist, I've never seen anything like this before!" Shura responds.

That's when the two notice tears beginning to stream down Seiya's cheeks. They both realize she's in there somewhere, but how to return her to normal is the problem. Shura looks at her blade. Knowing it's a demon sword, she seals it back in her chest and tells Rin to grab Kenta and try to remain in the far end of the chamber. With their demonic abilities temporarily erased, they don't stand a chance against Seiya. Wasting no time, Rin rushes to Kenta, helps him up, and gets over to the opposite corner of the room.

Seiya lets out a roar and to the boys' astonishment, makes a mad dash towards Shura. The Exorcist doesn't even flinch as Seiya begins to slash away at her…but no damage is done, not a single scratch is left behind. All Shura can feel is intense heat. Seiya continues her rampage, quickly running out of energy. She jumps away before going in for a tackle. Shura moves to the side, effortlessly dodging the attack. She looks over and notices something on the floor; the Dialga plushie and Seiya's cell phone. That's when she gets an idea.

Dodging more of Seiya's onslaught, Shura makes a grab for both the items and throws the plushie at the girl. The plushie is caught but quickly released; Seiya knows it would catch on fire if held long enough. Mephisto's scent is not enough to snap her free of this odd rampaging state. Going through Seiya's contacts on her cell phone, Shura calls the king of time, thinking maybe his voice will be enough to calm the raging Seiya. Mephisto answers the call, Seiya stops in her tracks.

Her body unable to move, Seiya barely says in a growling tone, "M-Mephisto?"

"{Phew, good, it worked.} Mephisto," Shura says putting him on speaker phone, "do me a favor and just keep talking. One of my techniques has sent Seiya into a frenzy, a nasty one at that."

He asks, "Are you saying my scent wasn't enough? Dear me, I'll need to think of other things to snap her out of these enraged states."

Seiya starts to calm down, her flames diminishing at a decent rate. The halo is the first thing to go.

Mephisto asks, "Tell me Shura, which technique made her react so badly? No one's hurt I hope."

The flames on her legs begin to disappear.

Shura responds, "No, no injuries. The only thing I'm getting from her flames is intense heat; not even a scratch."

"Yet she's lost it, right? Haha, I think our little spa date tonight will be much needed." Mephisto says.

The flames on her arms are last to go, and her eyes return to normal. Seiya, now snapped out of her frenzy, looks around confused. Shura switches of the speaker phone, telling Mephisto that the girl has returned to normal. With that they hang up, though unknown to Shura, Mephisto is quite frustrated. The Exorcist approaches Seiya.

Seiya looks up at her asking, "W-what happened? All I remember is those ghostly snakes…"

Shura sighs responding, "You Seiya have such a long way to go in controlling your powers…it makes Rin look like he's in full control."

"W-wait a sec, I have control!" Seiya argues. "I can shoot fireballs and streams!"

"But that isn't enough to even leave a sunburn on Satan." Shura states. "At the rate you're going…Satan would turn you to ash in seconds."

Seiya's eyes widen in horror. After all these months of training, compared to Rin, she hasn't even scratched the surface of her abilities. The boys are just as shocked. Kenta though thinks back to when he caught Mephisto trying to train her…her flames didn't even affect him then, not like they did five years ago. Rin has seen her powers, as they could damage him with pure ease, and even managed to hurt the giant Naberius Neuhaus had summoned. If Seiya really is the weakest, then what was all that?

"Look kid," Shura starts, "you've got a lot of potential. But I can see it; you're still afraid of your powers, even though you've been working hard to use them."

"…So, what you're saying is, I need to not fear these powers, right?" Seiya asks.

"Yes. You need to stop being so afraid of them." Shura sighs. "If only Shiro were still around, he could probably train you."

Kenta argues, "Well, what about you? Surely you must know something about this shit!"

Shura looks at him and says, "Hey, I already got one rookie to train."

Seiya begs, "Please Shura! I don't think Mephisto would have the time to train me; he's got other things to worry about. It has to be you! You even said it yourself, you went through hell before Shiro found you! You must know something!"

"Argh alright alright, calm down." Shura reluctantly agrees. "However, I'll train you, Seiya, on one condition. You must do everything I tell you - no if's, and's, or but's. Understood?"

"Y-yeah, of course, Shura-sama!" Seiya says.

Shura smiles, "Good. Now grab your plushie. This interrogation is over."

Shura snaps her fingers and the door swings open. The trio is able to leave, now that the Exorcist knows where they all stand. Seiya begins to feel a weakness in her knees, nearly falling over; she has been weakened greatly from her two recent outbursts in one day, and the aches begin to fill her body, the adrenaline wearing off for good. Shura hands Seiya's cell phone to her, almost forgetting herself that she had it, and helps her out the door, the boys close behind.

The following night as Mephisto reads an earthquake report that occurred within his park, Shura tells him that she'll hold back on sending in her report to the higher ups. She does demand a place to stay, with the demon king delighted at the idea, also thinking positively on having a powerful Exorcist around. Shura decides the talk is over and is about to leave when he offers her to have some green tea ice cream with him. She turns to look at him asking what he's planning, to which he replies he isn't planning anything. He wants nothing but peace for humankind and Assiah, having abandoned Gehenna long ago, stating that Assiah is his home. Before she leaves, she reminds him that because he's a demon the higher ups don't trust him, saying she doesn't blame them as an indication that she doesn't trust him either.

After she leaves, Amaimon appears hanging upside-down on the ceiling eating chips that interestingly enough defy gravity, much like his hair. Mephisto's eyebrow twitches along with his spiral antenna saying that he and his brother have a lot to discuss after what occurred. His frustration is cut short when a knock comes to the door. Knowing it's Seiya, he tells Amaimon to make himself scarce so she won't see him, otherwise she'll lose it again. Annoyed enough with the girl for intruding on his fun earlier, the earth king remains in place looking to start another fight. When Mephisto answers the door finding his girl on the other side, he joins her in the hallway.

"Ah, there you are, my sweet!" he greets her. "I'm amazed you're still awake at this hour. You fell asleep at the spa earlier and on the way home."

"I am exhausted, but for some reason, I can't sleep. Even Rin's awake too, and he's the snoozer around here." Seiya responds.

"I bet it's about what happened today. Hmm, what of your brother?"

"Kenta? Pfft, he could be high on sugar and still manage to fall asleep. Godzilla destroying the town wouldn't wake him up right now."

"In that case I think I have just the thing to help you sleep. You like green tea, right?"

"Mephisto…would you mind if I stayed with you tonight?"

A loud thud is heard in the office. On the other side of the door, Amaimon had eaves dropped on the two while hanging upside-down. Hearing Seiya ask such a question caused him to lose his focus and fall on his head, his spike now looking like a firework. That was something he hoped he'd never hear. Even Mephisto is caught off-guard.

"Y-you want to spend the night with me?"

"W-well…I, uh…I'd just feel better if I was with you tonight instead of the dorm."

"Hehe, I can't say no to you. But what about Mizu?"

"I have him right here in my bag. Masami's so exhausted, she has no energy to travel to her world, and Kuro and Ukobach are keeping themselves distant from him after what happened. I can't leave him with either Yukio or Kenta; they're sleeping."

"Hehe, I see. In that case he can join us. But before I lead you to bed, would you like to split some green tea ice cream with me?"

"Sounds good to me, Mephy."

Elsewhere, lying awake in his bed, Bon stares at the ceiling. He recalls today's events, watching as Seiya follows the odd woman dragging Rin with her out of the park. The teen also recalls what he researched about Seiya's white flames. Bon has a feeling something might be up and hasn't been able to shake the feeling since the mission.

"{Seiya…I'm not sure what's going on, or why everybody's being so secretive about you, your brother, and Rin. You looked like absolute hell earlier, and when you come back, it looked like you had been tortured. Not to mention the way Masami looked. Something happened to you back there…I want to know what, so I can help you. The more you hide, the less I can do.}"

Early the next morning, Kenta is shocked to discover his sister is not in her room. Only an exhausted Masami in a very deep sleep lies on her back in a mess of blankets that made up a make-shift nest. He heads to the Okumuras' Room, finding neither Rin or Yukio have seen her since last night. At first they think Shura may have arrived here earlier than they rise to start training Seiya, but none of them can confirm this theory since neither have her number. Plus, they would've been told this through a note if that were the case. Yukio decides the best way to solve this is to just call Seiya.

At Mephisto's mansion, he lies awake in the bed reading a manga as Seiya and Mizu continue sleeping peacefully. The little chimera ends up falling off the edge of the bed with a loud flop, not even stirring from hitting the floor. The demon king then hears something buzzing. Looking on the end table next to him, he sees Seiya's cell phone vibrating, having been on and charging all night. He picks it up seeing Yukio's number and answers it.

"Good morning Yukio. You're up awful early." Mephisto says.

That said everything right there. Yukio responds, "Sorry to bother you, Sir Pheles. I take it Seiya must be with you then?"

"Yes, she's with me." the king of time answers. "She came up to my office last night requesting to stay with me. I couldn't say no to her, especially if it would make her feel more comfortable."

Rustling is heard on the other end as Kenta rips Yukio's phone from his hand and shouts, "YOU TWO DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO, DID YOU?! IF YOU DID, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL KILL YOU!"

His ear now successfully deaf, Mephisto responds, "I can assure you, we didn't do anything. The second she lied down on my bed she passed out instantly, she was so exhausted."

Kenta shouts causing the demon king to drop the phone, "YOU DRUGGED HER!"

Mephisto goes to grab the phone while holding his ear until Seiya takes it and says with a growl, "Kenta, all I can say is this: you better be wearing an athletic cup when I meet up with you later."

A wave of terror washes over Kenta as he hands back Yukio's phone. Yukio speaks, "My apologies, Seiya."

"It's fine Yukio. Do me a favor and splash him with Holy Water for me. I'll see you boys in class." Seiya responds hanging up.

Mephisto says putting her phone back on the table, "Oh dear, I see my Schatz is awake."

"'Schatz'?" Seiya asks. "What's that mean?"

"It's 'sweetheart' in German. Perhaps I should teach you a few terms. Hehehe, maybe I can teach you how to call your brother names in German."

"I've always been curious to learn another language. Sounds like fun. But for now…I wanna sleep some more…"

"Sleep as long as you like, Schatz. You've got all day."

"…Hey, Mephy?"

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if I spent more nights with you? I mean, we are boyfriend and girlfriend now, so…"

"My dear Seiya, you can spend as many nights as you want with me; I won't refuse you. Not to mention, it would be a great idea to start seeing how well we fair together as a couple."

"{…Mephisto…} In that case, I'll be sure to come back."

Later that day, Seiya is late to cram school having slept most of the day away. She shows up with Baby Mizu in tow, apologizing for being late and taking her seat. When she finally gets a look at the instructor, she finds none other than Shura, now teaching Magic Seals, Circles, and Swordsmanship. The others are surprised that Seiya's late at all, as she's always been on time or early. Another surprise, the girl falls asleep a couple times, being startled awake by Shura smacking a wooden sword against the table close to Seiya.

After class, Seiya is at the library studying up on the material she fell asleep on, Mizu sleeping in the backpack next to her feet. Drifting off once again, she is awoken by Bon, who takes a seat across from her.

"Hey there Bon." Seiya greets. "So, what's up?"

"Are you okay, Seiya?" Bon starts. "You haven't been yourself the last couple days, including this one."

"I'm alright, just exhausted."

"Seiya, we all saw Masami enter her demon form yesterday. Something happened during the mission, and I want to know what. You're so drained that for the first time, you were nodding off in class today."

"…You saw Masami?"

"We all did. Kinda hard to miss a ten-foot bird restraining herself midair like that."

"Damn. I guess I can't hide from you, Bon. But, you have to promise not to tell the others; if they ask, just say she lost control, that she's afraid of ghosts or something."

"Alright, I won't speak a word of it to the others. The possible origin of your flames is still our big secret too."

"Then let's talk in a more private area. This library's a bit more packed than usual today."

Having decided on the roof of the old dorm, Seiya explains to Bon what happened yesterday at the amusement park. She explains that Amaimon had appeared for the second time, but seemed more dead set on going after Rin instead of her. Yet for some odd reason, she had lost all control of herself, and couldn't fight off the increasing power of her flames. On the inside, she explains she was terrified, the only way of trying to let others know she was there at all was by crying. There was just no fighting off the flames, and eventually she had blacked out, just barely able to see certain parts of the battle.

Seiya goes on that even though she was aware Kenta joined the battle, she couldn't snap out of it. But the scent of the king of time on the plushie was the only thing that brought her back, and fell into shock, not knowing what just happened. Next thing she knows, Yamada was actually Shura, and she had to interrogate her, Kenta, and Rin. During the interrogation, Shura had used a move that had an opposite effect on her, summoning the monster she became, only so vicious that she was completely gone. When she heard Mephisto's voice all of a sudden, she had returned to her senses.

Bon can't believe what went on behind the scenes. Although Seiya never revealed Rin being the son of Satan, only stating that they think he might be a demon, Bon is amazed Seiya managed to survive all that. Losing it twice in one day is a heavy price, and even the strongest of demons would be unable to move afterwards. Seiya ends it saying that Shura is supposed to train her so she can gain control of her powers, as she hasn't even scratched the surface yet.

"My God, Seiya…you really have been through hell, haven't you?" Bon says.

Seiya nods. "Sometimes I keep thinking it was a mistake to become an Exorcist. I mean, I'm an Exwire, and I'm still the weakest one, with zero control over her powers."

"It wasn't a mistake, Seiya. But the fact that you're still afraid of your powers isn't good; that fear is still controlling you. I can help you overcome it if you let me help you."

"But how? I thought I was doing so well."

"Something is obviously holding you back. Once we figure that out, you'll be able to break through that fear and gain full control of your powers. Albeit you'd have to start all over again, but you'll have better control."

"Hmm, I wonder if Shura-sama will let you help out?"

"Tough break if she says no; I'm helping you anyway!"

"…Right! {It's nice to have such a friend. Despite the fact I'm so drastically different, Bon doesn't judge me or treat me any differently. He treats me like I'm a human. Even Mephisto has been treating me so well for the last five years. Hmph, I don't care if I am gonna be a weapon to be used against Satan! It'll be my own way of showing everyone what I'm truly made of…and as my own way of returning the favor.}"


	18. Camping Trip!

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Also guys, I'm sorry it took a bit longer for this chapter to be released. I was sick over the weekend BIG time, and I needed to focus more on rest than anything. But things should return to the regular schedule.

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 18:  
Camping Trip!**

The next three months fly by for the Exwires. Seiya has decided after a month to move in with Mephisto, now staying in his mansion. Although Kenta had become filled with emotions wanting her to stay in the dorm with him, she assures him that she'll still spend time with him regardless of the situation. Mephisto himself has offered Kenta a room in the mansion, but the boy refuses, wanting to stay in the dorm with the Okumura Twins, not ready to move in to a fancy lifestyle just yet. Much to their surprise, Masami decides to reside in Seiya's dorm room, stating that the boys would need some kind of female influence around. Mizu is the only Familiar remaining with Seiya in the mansion.

It goes without saying, Baby Mizu has grown bigger in the last three months. He has gone from the size of a small cat to the size of a newborn donkey. The little chimera has even gotten passed his usual waddle, growing into his dragon-like legs. His tail remains that of a seal's, but now looks more like it flows in the wind, giving him a more elegant look. His neck has not gotten any longer, though his horns have just barely grown at all. Mizu has also entered the teething phase of his growth, new sharp teeth slowly growing in. The chimera has also learned new moves. He can now create a tidal wave of water varying in size and strength, propelling himself with water produced from his flowing tail allowing him to travel at faster speeds, and he has learned how to create barriers, although they don't last very long. Baby Mizu has been able to train himself for battle, but chooses to remain on the sidelines, not really liking combat very much.

Seiya herself has made progress with Shura around. Although the Exorcist herself isn't sure if the Vatican are actually aware of the Takenaka Siblings, she has been able to train the girl within the forest. However, despite the fact Seiya still fears her powers, unable to move past what happened the day Amaimon made himself known in the park, she has been able to increase the power of her current attacks, and infuse them within her kunai blade and the smaller knives. This alone has increased her confidence in battle, and has made her very effective in combat.

Speaking of the king of earth, Mephisto has been able to keep his brother hidden away from Seiya. He has decided to let his brother and his Familiar stay in a certain part of the mansion so long as he doesn't do anything that'll give him away. As a precaution to her Aura Sight Ability, the king of time has created a barrier that makes Amaimon and Behemoth practically invisible. Able to check on his brother when he can, Mephisto is worry-free for the time being, able to be with Seiya without any interruptions.

The two have even gotten closer as time progressed. Having gone on more than several dates, Mephisto has indeed made advances that Kenta would kill him for. Much to the demon king's surprise and excitement, Seiya has been playing hard-to-get, in a way letting him know she is actually nervous and not ready. Regardless, Mephisto has been more than patient with her, being careful not to take things too far or do something to push her away. It is almost like they have found their own heaven.

Kenta himself soon comes across what could be his first love within the remaining month of school. He tries to win the girl over with love notes that are poems poorly written, yet cute, and even brings her a small bouquet of daisies. To his dismay, he soon discovers the girl was never into him, having fallen for one of the more popular boys. His broken heart affects his demonic aura as he isn't able to use his attacks well anymore. When Hayato learns of this, he shows his best friend some tough love, beating the crap out of him within the forest, Kyou unable to watch the brutality. This does, however, get Kenta to realize he cannot allow for a heartache like that to affect him in a way it would make him dangerous or useless. The boy gets over his first heartache, and begins to retrain himself with Hayato's help. Emi and Gazeru eventually catch wind and decide to help him train.

Soon enough, it is the night before the last day of regular classes. Most of the students in the dorms begin to pack what they can, preparing to head home the next day. The Exwires won't be leaving as their training will continue through the summer. Neither seem to mind very much as it is the path they chose.

In the mansion, in Mephisto's bedroom, Seiya prepares for bed, fluffing the pillows and folding the sheets. As she does this, she doesn't detect the tricky headmaster sneaking up behind her, carefully placing his hands on her shoulders and lightly nibbling her ear. She smiles, turning around to meet her man, the two embracing each other as they lean in for a passionate kiss. Giggling from the fun, he lays her on the bed as the kiss turns into another wonderful make-out session. However, when his hand snakes its way to her thigh, she stops him, getting him to pull away.

"Come now, Schatz, you've been teasing me on this for the last month at least." he says kissing her neck. "I can barely contain myself any longer."

"I know, Mein Konig…" she responds, her face blushing, "I'm just…I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"Are you afraid it will hurt? Is that it?"

"…Well…yeah."

"My dear Seiya, sure it may hurt, but trust me the pain will be replaced very quickly with the best pleasure you can only begin to imagine."

"…Have you done this before?"

"Manga."

"Hahaha! Should've seen that answer coming."

"Please Seiya? I promise I'll be a true gentleman."

"Well…alright. I do need to get over this fear like I am my powers."

"Hoho, now the true fun begins!"

"Hold on, you! You do have protection, right?"

"Pfft, of course I do. Wouldn't want to impregnate you that quickly."

"Good. Though I'm still nervous…"

"Seiya, look at me. If I start to hurt you, or if it really hurts, you need to tell me, and I will stop."

"…Okay. Wait, where's Mizu?"

"He wanted to be in the garden tonight; so Shiemi's watching him for us."

"Good. Last thing I want him to hear is us having fun."

The next day, the regular students begin to leave, the Exwires bidding farewell to any other friends. Paku, who had dropped out of Cram school a while back, is surprised when Seiya doesn't show up to say goodbye. She remembers that the girl is dating the headmaster, and chances are she got tied up with him. Paku tells Izumo to tell Seiya to wish her luck on the rest of her training before climbing into the car and heading home.

Bon, Shima, Koneko, and Rin arrive at the main gate in time to find Izumo shooting a glare towards the mansion in the high distance. Soon enough Kenta arrives alongside Emi and Gazeru, who will be joining them in this year's Combat Training; she's decided it's time to move on from being an Exwire.

At the mansion, within the king of time's bedroom, the couple have made a mess of the bed sheets, having wrapped themselves in what had been pulled out of place. Mephisto cuddles Seiya from behind, kissing her softly on the neck. She stirs smiling, and flips onto her other side so she is facing him. The two open their eyes half way, both smiling with pleased and happy looks.

"Mmm, good morning, Mein Konig~." Seiya greets.

"Good morning, Mein Schatz~." he responds.

Seiya goes into a small stretch saying, "Last night couldn't have been anymore wonderful, Mephisto. To think I was so nervous."

He rubs her arm saying, "Fufufu, see? I told you, young Seiya; that quick pain was easily replaced with the best pleasure you won't find anywhere else."

"It was worth it to wait though."

"Yes, but don't play so hard-to-get next time, huh?"

"We'll see~."

"Hmm, what time is it?"

"Dunno. Get my phone?"

Mephisto rolls over and grabs Seiya's phone. He flips it open to find it's almost time for the Exwires to go on their camping trip for Combat Training. Seiya nearly flips, having forgotten that she needed to be up early to catch Paku before she left. The demon king tells her not to worry, as she'll be seeing her again before she knows it. The girl then thinks about how she's supposed to get to the station since Masami is all the way at the dorm. Mephisto tells her again not to worry, he'll see that she arrives in time. Although he tries to see if he can get her to go another round of the "bouncy bed game", but in her fear of being late, she gets him to stop easily by yanking one ear in one hand, and his spiral antenna in the other.

At the True Cross Halfway Station, Yukio is explaining that they'd be within the forest section for three days for combat training, being accompanied by Shura as well, aside from having the extra Exwire Emi with them. However, Shima wonders where Seiya is, commenting that Mizu has joined them without her. At that moment, they hear a familiar cry. It's Masami with Seiya riding on her back. The avian lands allowing her master off.

"Seiya, there you are!" Emi greets. "It's about time you got here!"

Seiya responds rubbing the back of her head, "Yeah, sorry about that, everyone. The alarm on my phone never went off; turns out the battery died on me overnight."

"Your battery died?" Kenta asks suspecting something. "But you always charge it at night."

"The type of dead where it doesn't even charge." Seiya replies holding up a nearly dead phone.

"_Eithew way, glad you showed up, Mommy!_" Mizu speaks.

"Well, now that everyone's here, shall we get going?" Yukio asks.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Rin happily replies, clearly excited about the camping trip.

The group walks along the trail, everyone with large backpacks that have already been prepared; Rin carries Shura's as well, her laziness settling early. Mizu has offered to carry a backpack or two, but despite the strength he's obtained over time, he's still too small for such labor. Yukio, however, makes him happy by allowing him to carry a lighter load. Along the way the group encounters a small waterfall, Rin's eyes lighting up at the sight of it as he places his hands in it. Even the Takenaka siblings find some fun in the tiny waterfall. Masami simply soaks her head to relieve herself of the heat.

They reach a clearing at last where the group splits up jobs: the guys prepare the tents while the girls create a magic circle. Seiya and Shiemi show more interest in wanting to help put the tents together. Mizu thinks it's time to play and tries to get Gazeru to play with him. The hellhound tries to get away, but this only gets Mizu to think he wants to play tag, and chases him. Within seconds they knock down a tent, and Seiya begins to think it was a mistake bringing him along; she could have had him remain with Kyou at the dorm, but she decided against it thinking he'd lose his mind.

With the sun quickly setting as time passes on, the girls try to cook curry for dinner, but Rin is unable to take them being more than unable as he takes charge of cooking dinner. Seiya asks him if she could help and he allows her, knowing she's been getting trained by Ukobach like mad the last few months. Dinner is ready rather quickly, and everyone is impressed with the curry. Rin and Kenta begin to understand what friendship is at this point, having been unable to really interact with people before. Although Seiya is content spending time with everyone, she begins to wonder about what would happen if the others were to see her true powers, what she really is underneath her flames. Kenta and Rin wonder the same thing on their own, but try to put this aside.

After dinner, Yukio announces the true goal of the camping trip. He explains that there are three Peg Lanterns that must be retrieved and brought back to camp before morning. Bon takes this as only three spots being open for the actual combat training to prepare them for real battles. The packs provided for this task contain three day's worth of food, water, etc. There is also one match and one flare rocket. Izumo questions the match and rocket to which Yukio explains that there is a choice to make: either light the rocket if one becomes to overwhelmed, or light the Peg Lantern and complete the task. He says that if the rocket is lit that he would go get whoever is in trouble. Shura, on the other hand, won't be able to do so due to her getting drunk while on duty, which means she'd be holding the fort. Masami is actually banned from use for this task as her ability to fly would be considered cheating to locate the lantern, and will instead aid Yukio in finding whoever lights a rocket.

Masami states, "Not to mention the fact that this will provide an extra bit of training in the task: if I'm unable to be summoned, you'd all have to be able to fair without me around."

"Yeah, that seems legit…" Seiya says, soon getting a bit defensive, "…though I would've liked a head's up on the matter since she is my Familiar, Mr. Yukio Okumura."

He looks at her asking, "Are you taking a tone with me, Student?"

"Ohohoho, and Four-Eyed Mole-Face strikes back!" Rin laughs getting in on the fun.

Yukio facepalms as Shura goes into a giggle fit over it, "Pahahaha, he's getting pissed~!"

As everyone prepares what limited packs they have for the task, Shura pulls Rin and the Takenaka Siblings aside. She tells them basically to not lose control and use their flames, the Siblings being the only exception to this rule because they can insert their flames into their blades. Seiya this time is limited to just that, not allowed to throw a fire ball or use a stream attack. All three agree to these conditions, especially considering the case Rin now has a wooden sword as Shura has held onto Kurikara till he can earn it back.

Once everyone is prepared, they each position themselves in spots around the magic circle. Yukio fires his gun, signaling the start of the challenge. Everyone dashes into the forest, thinking they've been pitted against each other in an odd competition.

Not even ten minutes into it, a bright blue light can be seen for several seconds. Rin has used his flames, though at the base camp, Shura laughs at this. However, the Takenaka Siblings appear to be lost. They took off in their own directions, though at one point Kenta locates Izumo, and against her will teams up with her; he doesn't like the feeling of being hopelessly lost. Emi and Gazeru go horribly off-course, nowhere near any of the Peg Lantern sites. Seiya winds up lost having looked up what a Peg Lantern is: basically a giant lantern that doesn't come to life unless it's lit and prefers to go after women; it also needs a constant food source, and the flame will go out from lack of fuel or when the sun rises. Mizu tries to sniff the air like a dog, but lacks the right olfactory senses to track down anyone.

Meanwhile, far enough away in a tree, Amaimon watches from a distance, frustrated that Shura could sense him. Mephisto appears in mid air by having transformed his umbrella into a bat-like creature, asking about the status of the Master of the Forest. Amaimon replies that it would cooperate after killing enough of its brethren. Although not too pleased with what Amaimon did, he soon warns his brother not to kill any of his students or he'd kill him. He goes to make a warning about touching Seiya, but the earth king has more interest in fighting, staring on, biting his long thumbnail, completely ignoring his older brother. The king of time shows his frustration, and at this point can only hope Seiya doesn't find him this time.

Lost in the forest somewhere, Seiya can't find her way around. She then hears what sounds like footsteps being made by a giant and ducks for cover, Mizu following suit. Peeking out of a bush, she sees something with a light behind it. Getting a closer look, she sees Nemu…and some kind of robot?

"{The hell is that thing?}" she asks unable to process what's happening. "{Since…since when…is he a Tamer? T-that could be the only explanation for it! But…he never summoned anything in class that day so… Just what in the ever loving f*ck is going on?!}"

"_Well…he has a Peg Lantern. That's one down and two to locate…we're screwed._" Mizu says.

Seiya then gets an idea. She jumps out from hiding and appears in front of Nemu, Mizu following.

She asks, "Hey, Nemu. You mind if we tag along? Maybe we could help keep the lantern lit or something?"

The silent boy replies with his bunny puppet, "Up yours, fish breath!"

He walks right by the two. Seiya becomes enraged, small flames building around her fist. Mizu sprays her with water trying to put it out, warning her about what he overheard Shura say. Although she would love to set the kid on fire, not only do her flames not hurt humans…using her flames is against the rules, meaning she could potentially fail the task at hand. As she looks at the lantern as it becomes smaller in the distance, she realizes that Bon was wrong. There aren't three spots open for grabs; there are three heavy lanterns that the class would have no choice but to help each other drag back to camp.

Back at camp, Yukio, Masami, and Shura noticed the small white light. Shura laughs that Seiya has lit up, but Masami argues that her master never used an attack. She could sense her master's anger towards something, and the flame was just a response.

The drunk Shura responds, "Well, at least she didn't nearly screw up as badly as Rin did."

Masami sighs and says, "Either way, I just hope she's able to complete this task. Hm, Yukio-kun, what would happen if she fails to retrieve a lantern?"

"I'm sure by now everyone must've figured out the true meaning behind it. Although it wouldn't look good, technically she'd still qualify for combat training. Hehe, she doesn't have much of a choice either way, now does she?" Yukio replies ending with a gentle smile.

Masami smiles, "This is true. Sir Pheles probably wouldn't allow her to fail."

Shura says crossing the perverted line, "He'd probably have her 'make it up' in some way!"

"Oh come now, Shura-san." Masami says with a disgusted look. "I highly doubt he'd put her in that kind of position."

A brief few seconds of silence becomes an uproar of laughter from Shura, "Put her in that position! HAHAHAHAHA! Good one, Masami!"

Shooting off a few sparks, the avian growls, "That is not what I meant!"

"{Is it me, or am I just surrounded by idiots?}" Yukio thinks.


	19. Angelic Fire

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

****Chapter 19:  
Angelic Fire****

At that moment, a flare rocket flies into the sky. Yukio and Masami take notice and tell Shura to remain awake in case anyone returns. The two head off into the forest with him on the avian's back. Everyone can see the flare light up the night sky and wonder who gave up. The majority think it could be one of the Takenaka Siblings.

Meanwhile, as Rin and his group consisting of Bon, Koneko, Shima, and Shiemi fight off a plethora of moths including one giant moth, Seiya becomes more hopelessly lost. She uses her flames as a way of using Morse Code. At the camp, Shura picks up on this. From a distance, so do the demon brothers. Amaimon looks at his brother with a look that says "really?"

"Did you seriously teach her Morse Code?" Amaimon asks, sounding less than amused.

Mephisto chuckles and answers, "No, I didn't teach her. She studied up on it and practiced like crazy. It's actually a pretty smart move."

"…"

"Hmm, let's see now… 'Help, I'm lost. I think I went further than the Peg Lantern location. Someone find me so I don't waste my rocket.' Haha, oh dear."

"I don't think that woman is gonna save her."

"Probably not."

"…Are you?"

"It's such a tempting invitation, but she does need to learn."

"Hm? She's doing it again…and she's moving fast."

"…She's being chased by centipedes. At least she'll be reaching the camp soon."

"Nope, look, she changed direction."

"{I think I should get involved.} My, my, what a mess."

Mephisto descends into the forest, his brother watching with little amusement. The king of time uses his transformed umbrella to quickly fly through the forest to Seiya's mobile location as she and Mizu continue to be chased by numerous bugs.

Elsewhere, Emi and Gazeru have met up with Kenta and Izumo, with the boy pulling the cart the lantern rests on as she attracts the moths flying around with a flashlight to be used for fuel. Her Familiars walk alongside the cart, their role to ward off any other demon that might appear. They allow the odd duo to join, Emi and Gazeru taking up the rear in case of an ambush from behind. They can all see bright white lights in the distance, but as of now Seiya's too far off to save. Regardless, Emi summons a Familiar, this time a Hummingbird-like creature with a green-teal body, white belly, stunning blue eyes, and a black beak.

"Okay Vulture, go help out Seiya and Mizu!" Emi commands.

Vulture squeaks, "On my way, Emi!"

The little hummingbird with the odd name darts through the forest, coming to Seiya's aid in seconds. She sees that the girl and her chimera are being chased by one giant centipede, made up of hundreds of smaller ones. Seiya takes her Kunai Blade and spins around sending flames at it, but the bug collection appears to be immune. Mizu sprays a jet of water, and still nothing. Vulture knows this thing's weakness. She flies right inside the mass collection of the bugs and finds the exact middle. The little bird beats her wings faster and faster, producing as much heat as possible. Unable to handle it, the centipedes burst, destroying their giant collection. The bugs run away, no longer wanting to be involved.

Seiya and Mizu stop running, the little chimera flipping onto his back panting heavily as they both try to catch their breaths. Vulture appears to them to see if they're okay, and at that moment, Mephisto arrives, the bat umbrella landing on the ground.

He speaks, "My poor Seiya, are you alright?"

She spins around a bit shocked to see him, "M-Mephisto?! The hell are you doing out here?"

"Come now Seiya, you should know I keep an eye on things like this from afar. I do like to make sure my students are faring well, after all." he replies.

Mizu says, "_I think I'll be permanently on the sidelines from now on! No more of that crap!_"

"It was a good thing this Air Demon appeared." Seiya says. "By the way, where'd you come from anyway?"

Vulture faces her answering, "I am Vulture, one of Emi Ito's many Familiars~! I may look small, but I can pack quite a punch when need be. I'll help lead you to Emi so you can get out of here."

"Hm, I don't think that will be necessary, Vulture." Mephisto says. "I'll guide my Seiya out of the forest."

"Okay then." Vulture says as she lands on Mizu's belly. "Then I'll stick around if you need me."

Seiya slumps to the ground resting her head in her hand saying, "Ugh, I can't believe I've practically failed this task. I'm gonna make one horrible Exorcist if I can even get past Exwire."

"You haven't really failed, Schatz. You just don't have a good sense of direction is all. Although I am curious, why haven't you used your Aura Sight Ability?" Mephisto asks.

"I did, but because the lanterns are inactive, they're invisible to me. And when they did become active…I actually discovered they disrupt my radar. Ngh, I'm so USELESS!" Seiya replies, making a small flail before falling on her back.

Mephisto lies next to her and says in a suggestive tone, "You aren't useless, my dear. In fact, there is one thing we can both do out here."

She shoots him a look saying with an aggravated tone, "Not here in front of Mizu, Mein Konig."

"{Damn! Ugh, she's teased me way too much.} Of course. Well, how about I get you back to camp then?" he asks.

"Sounds good to me." Seiya answers.

Mephisto helps her up, and together with the two Familiars leads the way. At that moment, a bright light appears from the camp itself, and a rush of wind knocks Seiya off her feet and onto the ground. Thinking something bad has happened, Seiya hurries towards camp, now aware of its location, though Mephisto stands in place. Amaimon has struck a lot sooner than he expected, and Shura activated the magic circle to kick him out.

When Seiya reaches the camp at last, everyone had returned with the three Peg Lanterns, yet Yukio and Masami are missing. Shura is telling everyone to stay within circle no matter what happens, sees Seiya, and splashes her with Holy Water. Mizu gets splashed as well though Vulture avoids the water like the plague and vanishes. With everyone on alert, Shura decides to give Kurikara back to Rin, stating that he's going to need the power to fight off the king of earth. The rest of the group tries to contact Yukio, but he and Masami are busy dealing with the moth chuchi, and the one giant moth before him. Before Shura could inform Seiya on what had happened, Shiemi gains a hypnotized look and walks off towards the forest. As she steps off the magic circle, Seiya hurries over to stop her, only to be greeted by the one demon she hoped to have never encountered again…Amaimon.

She growls, anger rising, "The hell are you do—" but is interrupted by him flicking her forehead and is sent flying back into the forest.

The tree she crashes on back-first is knocked down from the immense force, and Seiya is knocked out cold. Mizu can't believe what just occurred and goes to give chase but his tail is held down by the demon king's foot. Rin is about to go after Shiemi but is stopped by Shura. Kenta and Emi decide to go after Seiya, but they're stopped by a golden hobgoblin; it is Behemoth, his Familiar, and he plans on helping his master achieve his goal. Kenta takes out his sword and swings at the demon, but it evades and tackles the boy hard in the chin. He falls back knocked out as well, and the hobgoblin sets his sights on Mizu. Gazeru gets in the way and breathes fire on the demon, to which it responds by retreating into the forest.

"The hell do you want, Amaimon? What have you done to Shiemi?" Shura demands.

"It took a hell of a long time to incubate, but the parasite egg I had a female chuchi lay within her finally hatched, and has now taken control of her nervous system. As of now, she'll be obeying my every command." Amaimon replies, pulling the zombified girl close to him. "As for the two knocked out, they're annoying, especially Seiya."

"{The hell? Does he plan on taking vengeance on the siblings?}" Shura thinks.

At that moment, Gazeru rushes at the king of earth intent on stopping him, but he quickly picks up Shiemi and takes off into the forest, releasing Mizu. Rin gives chase but is cut off by Behemoth getting in his way. The hobgoblin attacks him, but Shura counters with her sword, sending it into a violent spin. She tells him to hurry up and save Shiemi while she deals with Behemoth. As Rin gives chase, something begins to happen with Seiya. The segmented halo from before reappears on her head, soon gaining a full form and lifting off her head, dancing just an inch or two above.

Kenta on the other hand wakes up and decides to chase after Amaimon, sword drawn with the intent to kill. The others call for him, but he's disappeared into the darkness. Emi once more goes after Seiya, Gazeru remaining with the remaining group. However, instead of actually going to check on her, she pulls out her cell phone and contacts Hayato.

He responds asking, "Has something happened, Emi?"

"Yes. Amaimon, the Demon King of Earth has unleashed his attack. Rin and Kenta are currently in pursuit, but Seiya…I sense a very powerful aura." Emi answers.

"Well, sounds like you can't stay an Exwire too much longer. Do what's necessary if things get too out of hand with the Siblings, understood?"

"Understood."

Meanwhile, Rin has caught up with Amaimon and questions what he plans on doing with Shiemi. When he responds that he'd make her his bride, he isn't sure what to think. Amaimon, word for word, speaks the vows, to which Shiemi nods to. The king of earth says to make it official, to seal it with a kiss, but Rin interrupts him by swinging his covered sword at his head. Amaimon doesn't even feel the hit, and punches Rin sending him flying across the forest, knocking over several trees along the way. Everyone at camp can't even fathom the destructive power. He ends up on a rocky cliff where Amaimon drop kicks him creating more destruction while still holding onto Shiemi. That's when Bon decides he can't stand around anymore and marches into the forest. Shima tries to stop him, but Bon is too angry to turn back. Unwilling to follow, Shima swallows his pride and follows Bon. Against his better nature, Koneko also follows the two, all three now wanting to help Rin.

At the cliff, Amaimon questions if Shiemi is important to Rin, to which he responds telling him to drop dead. Feeling he has no more use for the girl, he decides to revisit an old request, one he was about to do to Seiya three months prior: remove her eyeball and give it to his cousin. Rin yells for him to stop when a flare rocket whizzes by. Both look to find the Kyoto Trio has joined the battle, knowing full well they could be killed. Amaimon is confused until Koneko accidentally lights his rocket and it goes flying, exploding at first what appears to be Shiemi's head. A second glance when the smoke clears that it had actually hit Amaimon's spike. Shima can't help but chuckle as the spike now looks like broccoli.

Amaimon shows great displeasure in being laughed at, and shows this by kicking Shima in the chest, sending him flying into a tree. He is about to go after Bon, but Koneko blocks, getting in the way. The demon king retaliates by poking his left arm, making it look like someone whipped a hose as it breaks the moment it reaches his elbow. Just before he can get to Bon, however, a bright white light approaches the battleground.

To everyone's surprise, it's Seiya, in her now true form. The halo floats gently above her head, sports fiery wings in the shape of hawk wings, her fangs just roll over her bottom lip, and her eyes look just as they did in the park. The only difference: she's in full control as flames cover her hands up to her elbows and her feet to her knees. Her ears have also become slightly pointed, making her look more like an elf than a demon. Amaimon pretty much drops Shiemi by accident astonished, feeling Seiya's new aura. Bon and Rin are speechless.

Bon tries to speak, "S-Seiya…? Is…is that really you?"

She looks at him smiling gently, "You were right Bon. I was never a demon at all. My ancestor really was…a Fallen Angel."

"A…Fallen Angel?" Rin can barely mutter.

A smirk just barely snakes its way onto Amaimon's lips, before he gains an eerie-looking grin on his face.

"Hahahahahaha! A Fallen Angel? Really? That is such bull—GWAUGH!" he laughs before Seiya punches him hard in the stomach sending him flying over the cliff and into the forest below.

She uses her new wings to fly over to Rin and help him up asking, "Are you alright, Rin?"

He looks at her at a loss for words, "Y-yeah, I'm…okay. But what about you?!"

Bon and Koneko can't help but stare in pure awe. That's when Bon recalls the conversation they had when he first found out…

Rewind back three months, just after the Tsuchinoko Mission…

Bon and Seiya had found a quiet spot where no other students are around.

He begins, "What I'm about to tell you might sound a bit farfetched, but it's all I got. Those white flames of yours, Seiya, they are definitely not demonic by any means. The only reason they harm demons and not humans is because they belong to a very early ancestor of your family line. That ancestor is a Fallen Angel."

"A Fallen Angel?" Seiya asks interested. "Aren't they normally angels that sin, though?"

"Technically yes." Bon goes on. "But this one was framed to have sinned…framed by an ally of Satan."

"Dude, the f*ck?" Seiya responds. "I thought this story followed a Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale, not the bible!"

He looks at her confused, "Story? What are you talking about?"

"N-nevermind." the girl responds realizing the fourth wall breakage. "Please continue."

"Riiiight." Bon says. "Anyway, this Fallen Angel was framed and remained on Earth, having created his own human vessel, and fell in love with a human woman. After a few years had passed, he had been blessed with three kids, two of them inheriting his powers, but that power remained dormant as there was no point in it being active at that point in time. When God discovered he was wrong about your ancestor, he found him alone one day and came to him."

"A dormant power…that would explain things. But how'd it get to me?" Seiya asks.

"I'll be getting to that. So, as the story goes, God wanted to give the angel another chance and invited him back into heaven. The angel replies that he cannot, as he had already been blessed with a loving wife and three beautiful children. God understood and told him once he was ready to return, that he would be waiting. Although that day did eventually come, your ancestor stayed on earth long enough to make sure his powers remained dormant until the day Satan became a threat. This power passed on in full with each generation, leaving its current host. Eventually it passed on to your mother, and finally to you. Because Satan is now a threat, that power has activated, although in defense against that night five years ago." Bon concludes.

Seiya is dumbfounded, "It…it makes so much sense…"

"The only reason it got to you though, was because you were born first. Had Kenta been born first, he'd be the one with the angelic abilities. It's possible you have a lost relative with the same powers too, but that's only a theory at this point." Bon says.

Seiya asks a bit in awe, "Really…so you think whatever it is affected one of my ancestors, but it passed on to each generation lying dormant long enough to find me?"

"That's what I'm assuming." Bon answers. "I can't be too sure just yet."

Return to the present moment…

"S-Seiya!" Kenta is heard calling.

He has made it out of the forest where his right arm is badly burned; an effect from Seiya having whizzed by him a few seconds ago. He is stunned to see what his sister has become. Hovering high above the battlefield staying out of sight, Mephisto watches the battle from a levitating pink chair, the bat-like umbrella sitting on the top of the chair. The king of time is baffled by the sight of his woman.

"A Fallen Angel?" he asks. "Now I understand…the white and gold flames, why they don't harm humans and deal massive damage to demons… Hehehehe, I've picked a winner. A demon in love with an angel. Talk about a unique Romeo and Juliette story."

Before anything else could happen, Koneko sees Amaimon's hand reach up and over the edge. The group looks over watching as the demon king climbs up onto the cliff, clearly heavily damaged. When he stands, a hole has burned through his clothes revealing a red circle on his stomach; it looks like nothing more than a bad sunburn. Amaimon glares at Seiya, who shows no fear any longer.

"You…how DARE YOU!" he shouts dashing at the girl.

Seiya blocks his punch and punches him in the face. Within seconds the two exchange a series of punches, kicks, and slashes. While this is going on, Yukio arrives in time to see the battle, stunned by Seiya's new look. He's amazed she's fighting him at all…and with a calm and confident expression; no anger, no fear. Bon snaps out of his astonishment and picks up Shiemi, seeing she's okay from when Amaimon dropped her. Yukio hurries over to the group where Bon fills him in on what just happened. The young Exorcist sees the parasite in Shiemi's neck and removes it, snapping her out of her zombified state.

All too soon, Amaimon finally gets Seiya pinned to the ground, holding her down tightly by her throat. Seiya plays dirty and kicks him hard in his crotch, the other guys now feeling his pain. Crippled by this pain leaving him wide open to an attack, Seiya gets up and kicks him in the head, sending him over the cliff once more. After a couple minutes, Amaimon climbs back up, a new red mark on his forehead. His rage only grows more with each passing second; though this type of anger feels new to him as he's normally excited to encounter a tough opponent. Seiya signals him to come to her, a smirk on her face. The demon king growls before launching himself at her. She responds with a powerful flap of her wings and the two collide, now in a power struggle.

The struggle doesn't last long. To everyone's shock, including Shura and Masami who have now reunited with the group, the white flames leave Seiya in an instant. Her ears remain pointed, fangs back to normal, eyes back to normal, halo missing, and a pair of small, levitating white wings in a curly style (similar to what's on _Victini_ from _Pokemon_) are all that remain. A cryptic grin finds its way to Amaimon's lips, now delighted in the fact the girl is now weak.

He laughs like a hyena saying, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is that it? Is that all you really have, Ms. Fallen Angel? This is too perfect!"

He knees her in the stomach sending her flying. Kenta and Masami catch her though the force is enough to make them crash into a tree. At that moment, the king of earth appears in front of them, more than ready to deliver the final blow when…


	20. What Is My Fate?

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 20:  
What Is My Fate?**

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Rin shouts, gaining Amaimon's attention.

As Rin removes the covering of Kurikara Yukio pleads, "Wait, stop! Don't release your sword! Don't you realize what'll happen if you do?!"

Amaimon looks at him saying, "Oh, we gonna play now?"

Rin goes on as he grasps the sword's handle, "Everyone…I'm sorry. You've all been so good to me. But, I can't keep up this façade any longer. It's time for the truth…" He unsheathes his sword, bringing out all of his power at once, "…AND TO PROTECT ALL OF YOU!"

The king of earth looks over at Rin, and instead of thinking along the lines of a psychopath, finds fun in seeing Rin the way he is now, wanting to continue their "play" from that day at the amusement park. He wastes no time in heading over to his younger brother, the two entering a duel.

In the chair out of sight, Mephisto is fanning himself with a paper fan saying, "Phew, good boy, Rin. Hmm, why do I have a feeling Seiya will be biting my head off after this?"

The duel rages on, Rin giving in to Satan's power in order to contend with the king of earth who is enjoying every second of the battle. At one point, Amaimon grabs onto Rin's tail which appears to be a great weakpoint to any demon, Mephisto commenting that a gentleman knows how to keep his tail tucked in tight. As this goes on, the group gathers up Shiemi and Seiya, reunites with Izumo, Nemu, and Mizu, and makes their way out of the forest; it's too dangerous for them to stick around now.

However, as the blue flames become stronger with each swing of Kurikara, they begin to reactivate Seiya's true form. The others watch as her body lights up with the white fire. Even Kenta's flames react, all in a means of defense and trying to handle the power of Satan. Seiya looks back and decides something needs to be done while she still has her powers. Using her wings and ignoring the group, she flies back to the battlefield. Instead of joining the battle, she tries to counter the blue flames with hers, seeing if maybe her fire is strong enough to put out Rin's. It appears to work until her flames are absorbed; she realizes even now she is not yet strong enough.

It's at that moment, Mephisto butts in, catching the boys' arms and stopping their battle stating that at the rate they're going, the school would be reduced to rubble, something he refuses to tolerate. Seiya flies over to them, a new intent growing in her mind.

"But older brother!" Amaimon argues, "You said if I followed your instructions, you'd let me play as much as I'd like this time!"

Mephisto explains, "Not only have you endangered my Schatz, but I did warn you not to break my school. Besides, you haven't quite understood it yet, have you? This younger brother of ours… There's an overwhelming difference in abili—"

Before he could finish, Amaimon punches him shouting, "I HAVEN'T LOST YET!"

With her new speed, Seiya is able to catch Mephisto, but once more the force is too strong and both of them crash into a tree. He is surprised she's returned to the battle, but the look she gives him says it all; he's got a ton of explaining to do. With that, he counts to three in German and summons a gigantic Cuckoo Clock. An odd-looking bird lurches out, uses its beak to grab Amaimon and pull him back in, the doors closing quickly. Before he could vanish his brother elsewhere, Seiya smirks. She climbs out from beneath the king of time, flies over, and smashes the clock, the entire thing catching on fire as Amaimon falls to the ground.

Stunned, both the demon kings look at her before she growls, "Amaimon, you better make yourself scarce before I figure out how to give you third degree burns!"

Not wanting to stick around despite his only chance at fun calling his name, the king of earth takes off into the forest, knowing Behemoth is around somewhere.

Mephisto clears his throat saying, "Uh, my dear, you do realize that…ohhhh…"

Seiya shoots him a rather nasty look as she says, "Mephisto Pheles, we need to talk."

The king of time makes a comical "oh shit" face with the same thought before they both turn to Rin, noticing he is completely out of control. Seiya sighs.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this is gonna catch the Vatican's attention big time." she says. "You better get over to the group before someone else gets hurt. I'll deal with Rin; his flames are the only reason mine have come back."

"Y-yes, my dear." Mephisto unwillingly agrees, not wanting to anger her anymore than she is now.

She sighs, "Alright Rin. This won't be easy, but it's time to douse those flames. We'll just call this Super Advanced Training. BRING IT, RIN OKUMURA!"

Meanwhile, near the campus, the rest of the group has made it safely out of the forest and onto what appears to be a bridge. Shima gives in to his injuries while Shiemi has recovered. However, a new Exorcist has caught up to them. He is a tall, thin man with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He wears a custom-made white, red-lined coat with is adorned with several ropes and many gold buttons. Around his waist he sports two white belts with gold buckles, to which he keeps his broadsword sheath attached. Beneath the coat he wears a collared shirt with a dark red tie, complete with a gold cross imprinted on the front. He also wears white, red-soled boots, and is wearing a communicator on his ear. Shura shows disgust in this man as he orders his subordinates to take statements from the Exwires as well as treating the wounded and putting out the blaze with Grade-A Holy Water.

Kenta asks not liking him either, "Yo, Blondie, just who the hell do you think you are, pal?"

The man turns to them saying, "Ah, good morning ladies and gentlemen! I am Arthur Auguste Angel, an Upper First Class Exorcist of the Vatican Branch. Though I've just recently been appointed as the new Paladin. Haha, that means I'm your new boss, Shura!"

Even Mizu is not impressed, letting out subtle growls, "_Is it me, or is this guy a loser?_"

Masami thinks also showing disgust, "{Oh my god…this guy…is a tool. Sooooo glad I'm a demon right now.}"

Arthur asks, "Shura, how come you haven't reported anything to the Vatican?"

"Not like I'm the only spy here, y'know." Shura shoots back sounding like a smartass.

At that moment, Mephisto appears in a pink smoke cloud, somewhat congratulating Arthur at receiving the Paladin Rank. At the same time, just behind him, a huge ball of fire crashes onto the bridge. The flames clear, showing an exhausted Rin and Seiya, with her holding Kurikara and its sheath. Panting heavily, she manages to shove the sword back in its sheath, sealing Rin's blue flames causing him to pass out from the stress. With the flames gone, Seiya's flames disappear and she collapses, remaining conscious.

She says, "Hah…hah…man Rin…hah…you're a hell of a challenge…hah…"

Arthur shows slight interest in Seiya all of a sudden, almost ignoring the job Shura was instructed with: to eliminate anything related to Satan. He seems aware of what powers the girl has as she tries pushing herself up. Her brother rushes over and helps her sit up. The new Paladin appears in between the siblings and Rin, though Kenta draws his sword in defense, a clear message that Arthur apparently isn't getting. Even Mephisto starts to grow defensive, shooting the blonde-haired man a dirty look.

"Ah, what do we have here?" Arthur asks as he lowers himself to their level. "A girl bestowed with the powers of an angel. Hmm, how fitting."

Seiya instantly growls, "Piss off, tool."

Shura can't help but cackle; even Seiya can sense an unlikable aura around this man.

Arthur's eyebrow twitches and he tries again, "Come now. Could an angel like you tell me your name?"

"…There a reason I should? I definitely don't wanna learn your name, pal." Seiya shoots.

"Hahaha, oh Seiya, tell me you're my long-lost sister~!" Shura laughs, loving the bashing.

"Hmph, it must've hurt when you hit your head once you fell from heaven; you should know not to judge a book by its cover." Arthur says.

Kenta puts his sword away as his sister growls, "And you obviously went completely deaf or something when you fell, because you're not listening to my warnings. One more word out of you, and I'll turn you into the girl you are."

Mephisto gains a nervous expression, lightly covering his mouth, "{What kind of trouble am I going to be in later?!}"

Rin finally wakes up, having heard some of the failed flirting and says, "Dude, go away. She's already in a relationship."

"Huh? With who?" Arthur demands.

Mephisto replies, "With me, Mr. Paladin."

Arthur at first thinks it's a joke and laughs, but when everyone shoots him a serious look, he has no choice but to believe it. He states, "Argh, how can an angel be in a relationship with a demon?"

Having enough, Seiya goes to punch Arthur, though he avoids the attack and she yells, "Because he saved me and my brother's lives five years ago, dumbass!"

Appearing in front of the small tower to where the group came from, Arthur says, "Hmph, talk about blasphemy. But you do know demons are smooth-talkers, right?"

Seiya glares nastily replying, "I've known my brother all my life and Rin for three months! They're nowhere near being smooth-talkers!"

"Hey!" the both respond.

"The heck kind of back-up was that, Seiya?" Rin goes.

Kenta agrees, "Yeah sis, what the hell?!"

Getting nowhere with Seiya, Arthur directs his attention towards Mephisto and says, "…So, you've finally your tail, huh, Mephisto? The Grigori will be informed of your betrayal. This incident is all the crucial evidence I need."

"I haven't shown my tail." Mephisto replies. "You're being rude to such a gentleman as I."

Seiya looks away blushing, "{Come to think of it…I didn't see his tail once while we did the 'Happy Horizontal Dance'. Damn, he's good! But still, that doesn't make up for keeping Amaimon a secret.}"

Arthur then grabs his sword's handle saying, "Caliburn, give me strength."

Caliburn replies affectionately, "Kyaa~! I'll give it to you, Arthur~!"

The Takenaka Siblings yell surprised, "THE DAMN THING TALKS?!"

"Hm?" Arthur goes having yet to draw his sword, "Of course it does."

He suddenly disappears then reappears grabbing Rin by the throat, holding him up while holding the guillotine-shaped sword ready to strike, "Now then, by order of True Cross Academy's Supreme Advisor of Grigori…I will execute Satan's spawn!"

Shura decides to counter, though Arthur uses his impressive speed to dodge the attack. She then bites her thumb drawing blood, and smears it down her sword's blade, bringing it into another form: Snake Lance. It looks similar to a snake's jaw albeit in a wavy-like style, and even sports two open eyes. The female Exorcist uses Snake Fang, sending more visible crescent waves at the Paladin, though he's able to restrain her from behind, holding his sword up to her neck.

At that moment thinking he's going to kill her, Kenta strikes Caliburn, sending it into a spiral before it lands behind Arthur. The Paladin is caught off-guard, unable to really get out of the restraint on Shura quick enough. But things don't remain serious for long.

Kenta points his sword at the Paladin saying with a confused and frustrated expression, "Hold on! That Demon Sword of yours just talked! And it was speaking like it's in love with you! The hell's the deal with that thing?"

"You're seriously more concerned over a sword he makes love to over the fact he could've injured Shura-sama just now?" Seiya asks.

Mephisto and Shura can't help but try to hide their giggling as Arthur responds baffled, "I-I do not make love to my sword! That's physically impossible!"

"You know, you're kinda right." Seiya says standing up. "You're penis would have to be incredibly small and flat to fit inside Caliburn's sheath."

Both the king of time and female Exorcist burst into an uproar of laughter. Overhearing the conversation, Shima can't help but snicker even if it hurts his chest. Bon and Yukio are the more stunned ones, unable to believe what just came out of Seiya's mouth.

Kenta turns to his sister asking, "Hey Seiya, how much you wanna bet he's got a pencil d*ck?"

She answers, "Hmm, how much you wanna bet there's probably nothing there, and Caliburn's just over-compensation for it?"

"Guys…really?" Rin asks, as much as he'd love to get in on the jokes, he restrains himself.

"Let them keep going! This is pure gold!" Shura laughs.

In a fit of rage, Arthur appears in front of Seiya, grabbing her head with one hand and holding Caliburn up to her throat in the other. Without her flames, she's unable to counter to save herself. Kenta goes to attack, but Mephisto has already countered, forcing the Paladin to back off. All these conflicting energies catch the Earth King's attention, as he carefully peeks from behind the opposite tower. Behemoth is with him, as he peeks around the corner too.

Amaimon whispers, "Who knew that Seiya was incredibly evil. I can see why brother likes her. But…she isn't quite within my taste."

He goes to slip away but Behemoth says, "_Hold on a sec, Master! Something isn't right._"

"Don't tell me you're concerned about that girl. You do realize even her aura could kill you."

"_That blonde guy they're picking on…I have a really bad feeling._"

"Hmm, I guess you're right. If Seiya were to die, Big Brother would be very upset. Alright, see if you can tag along."

"_Will do, Master._"

As Arthur receives an incoming call from his communicator, Behemoth stumbles in, making it seem like he is in a rush to get away from something. When the golden hobgoblin gets too close, the Paladin blocks him until Seiya manages to punch him in the back of the head before grabbing hold of the little demon. Shura, Rin, and Mephisto are the only ones that recognize him, but keep themselves from saying anything; they're aware that Amaimon may be close, but neither can sense a thing. Seiya has never met Behemoth, but she can feel Amaimon's aura on him, which means if he dies, the king of earth will be thrown into a rage if he's attached enough.

"How dare you stop—" Arthur goes to say before Seiya interrupts him, "HE'S INNOCENT! I encountered him in the forest when I got lost trying to find a Peg Lantern, and he tagged along. He's my Familiar, and if you kill him, I'll kill you!"

"{Good cover, my dear.}" the king of time thinks.

"Tch, fine." Arthur says. "However, an order just came from Grigori. It has been decided that I will now perform disciplinary action in interrogating Mephisto Pheles, the Head of the Japanese Branch. I have been instructed to take Satan's Spawn, as well as those two, as material evidence."

Mephisto takes this lightly, snapping his fingers changing into his more formal outfit from before saying, "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Shura, I'll also have you act as a witness." Arthur says grabbing Rin by the collar of his shirt.

"Whoa, whoa wait, we're going now?!" Kenta exclaims.

"Shouldn't things like this be done like regular courts, setting up a date and stuff?" Seiya questions. "I'm not even properly dressed for this! I'm a mess!"

Mephisto answers, "Not when it's the Vatican. When they want you, they expect you at that moment."

"But, what about Mizu? And Masami?" Seiya asks, worried.

Masami answers, "It's okay, Young Master. We'll aid Yukio to help the injured. You go before you get into more trouble."

"_We'll be okay, Mommy._" Mizu assures, though he clearly wants to cry. "_I'll help heal everyone!_"

Seiya looks at her two Familiars before her brother puts an arm around her. Rin tries to ask Shiemi if she's okay before they're taken away, but her response is anything but her current status. Sure Bon wants to explode himself, but given he's known about the Takenaka Siblings and was clued in on Rin being a demon, there's nothing to go insane over. The rest of the Exwires along with Seiya's Familiars are lead inside. The current group now follows Arthur without any other choices. He uses a Warp Key, which takes them directly to an opera house-type room. At first glance, it looks nothing like a regular court room, adorned with gold coloring, chandeliers…this place looks as if it were part of a palace. In front of them is a large staircase that leads to a high stand; Mephisto makes his way there.

Arthur tells Rin to kneel, but because he wasn't doing so fast enough, the Paladin kicks him and locks him in place by nearly severing his leg with Caliburn. Kenta wants to strike back, but before he could even process what just happened, the Takenaka Siblings find themselves encased in large blue crystals. Behemoth is a bit shaken by this as well as Seiya. She goes to call for Mephisto, but he cannot hear her on the outside. It's wasted breath at this point.

"Mephisto…he can't hear me?" Seiya asks.

"_To be honest, it seems like we're deaf too._" Behemoth says. "_I see that fat human's lips flapping, but I can't hear a single word he's saying._"

"I don't like this! I wanna be able to hear what's going on! The hell is my fate now? Am I…are me and Kenta…are we gonna be executed? Is Rin gonna be executed? What about…Mein Konig…."

"_Hey, keep making movements! I think they're taking notice!_"

"…"

"_S-Seiya?_"

"…"

Her brother and Rin look at her. "Wait a sec, I can't hear her. Does that mean she can't hear anything too?" Rin asks.

"{Just as I thought…}" Kenta thinks. "{They don't want us talking at all. Bastards.}"

Mephisto looks down from the Witness Stand at Seiya and asks, "Is this really necessary? To block her ability to hear?" he turns toward the Grigori, "If you want her to be calm in any sense of the word, I highly suggest you let her and Kenta listen in on what we're discussing. I believe they deserve to know what's going on."

"The Fallen Angel and the Rot Demon don't need to hear any of this." one Grigori says.

They suddenly realize their mistake when what little flames Seiya is beginning to produce out of stress melts away part of the crystal. Two openings form before her flames cancel themselves. Behemoth is unharmed, and he discovers that her flames are not only weak, they can barely produce enough power to hurt the weakest of demons. She then glares up at the Grigori, almost as if daring them to keep her from hearing what's going on. Kenta at that moment does the same, using his flames to create at least one opening before canceling his flames.

Mephisto shrugs, "Okay, problem solved. Shall we continue?"

Rin looks again at Seiya, "{She's really drained. If they decide anything against her…she won't be able to defend herself. This isn't good. I can only hope at this point…they don't decide to kill us.}"

Kenta thinks, "{…This is all total bull.}"


	21. Judgment

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 21:  
Judgment**

The Grigori and Mephisto first open up discussion with the case of Rin. The way the Grigori speak about him is like he's an animal, only addressing him as the Son of Satan and the like. Like a broken record, they question him on why he was hiding Satan's son in the first place and what his intentions are. He responds with the same answers he gave Shura, that he intends on using Rin as a weapon against Satan after fighting a predominantly defensive battle. He reveals that fifteen years ago, when he and Shiro found Rin that he had sealed his powers within Kurikara, and that Shiro decided to take him in and raise him as a son, until his powers became known. The Grigori seem rather adamant on the fact Rin was not eliminated instead and seem to insist on carrying out the deed.

However, Mephisto thinks that he should live, and give the Grigori a choice: either Rin becomes the Savior of Assiah or the Prince of Gehenna. Arthur decides to argue about the matter, not wanting everyone to listen to the king of time's words; this only angers Rin, as he thinks about Shiemi's reaction to him. His flames erupt as he states he is neither the Savior of Assiah or the Prince of Gehenna, that he is just Rin Okumura, not be judged as they so please. He states that he'll become a great Exorcist, which only prompts Angel to become disgusted. Rin goes and taunts the Paladin who readies his blade, but is stopped by the Grigori. They state that they have gained wisdom from the same demons that they have been fighting since ancient times, and that Mephisto has served the order for 200 years, so he holds a certain amount of trust.

Because of all this, they decide to take up Mephisto's wager, and so long as Rin passes the Exorcist Exams in six months, as well as not lose control of his flames, he is allowed to live. However, the trial doesn't end yet. While Rin is set free from Arthur's sword, all eyes focus on the Takenaka Siblings. Even Mephisto looks down, knowing this part won't be easy. He now has to save the siblings again, but from a danger he can't predict. What he is thinking is that because Seiya is the only one with Angelic Powers…that she might become an experiment.

Timote Timowas, the director and enforcer of the Knights of the True Cross, who started the trial, brings up an image on Kenta first, wanting to clear the only demons in the room as quickly as possible. He asks why Mephisto had hidden away the siblings in the first place, as although they are nowhere near as dangerous as Rin, they still hold dangerous powers. Mephisto replies that Kenta is the younger sibling, born five years apart from his sister. His father was part of the Rot Tribe, and Satan had thought of Kenta being a back-up should Rin have failed in some way. The only difference between the boys is that Kenta is the only one in full control of his demonic powers, though both have been raised as normal kids. Shura gets a word in saying she has witnessed his abilities herself, that Kenta indeed is no threat to the Vatican.

Feeling it's pointless to argue about Kenta, they bring up the fact that Satan planned a back-up. Kenta rolls his eyes and says that he has every intention in bringing Satan down as much as they do, and that his only other main goal is to protect his sister. He even goes on saying that for the past five years, he was harshly training himself, wanting to become strong so he doesn't have to always rely on Seiya to be nearby. The sword that was made is meant to keep his powers in check, and that he can draw it without it activating his powers. He activates his abilities only when needed.

The Grigori are surprised at how calm Kenta is compared to Rin flaring up. They accept the fact he is indeed no threat at this point, but give the condition of him being checked up on at least twice a week to be certain his powers are in good standing. Now, they enter the final case, and all eyes fall on Seiya who has become very uneasy. Behemoth can sense this easily, but there isn't a thing he can do. The golden hobgoblin notices the halo trying to form on her head, but again she is too drained to activate her abilities.

Timowas brings up the image of Seiya in her true angelic form. He looks at Mephisto asking about her. The tone of his voice this time wasn't as confident as it has been so far. He gives the history that she was born of a human mother and father, stating Kenta's father gives the siblings their half-sibling relations. He was unaware for the last five years that she was a Fallen Angel, and has not had the chance to do any kind of research, having only found out just now. The king of time states that while her flames have no effect on humans, they do indeed greatly damage demons. Shura once more speaks, stating she has seen this herself while Seiya went into a blind frenzy; her slashes left no mark behind, that the only thing she felt was intense heat. The Exorcist also states that she has been training Seiya on getting over the fear of her powers in order to become stronger.

The Grigori question Mephisto on how he could not have known. He shrugs responding there are things even he cannot explain. They then look at Seiya before they question the demon king on if he knows anyone that knows of Seiya's origins. The girl grows upset, knowing the answer; Bon is the only one that knows of where her powers come from and how they reached her. Mephisto replies that he doesn't know if there is someone that knows, causing the Grigori to talk amongst themselves. Behemoth looks up at Seiya.

"_Seiya…you know there's someone out there, don't you?_" he asks.

"There is but…" she quietly responds, "I don't want to drag him into this. It isn't right, and his name could be ruined…"

Just outside the doors, voices can be heard. Suddenly the doors are swung wide open, and to the current group's surprise, it's Bon. He slams the doors behind him, and tosses Arthur a warp key; turns out it's the same one he used to get everyone here.

Timowas quickly demands, "And just who are you, young man? How did you get in here?"

Bon responds, "My name is Ryuuji Suguro. I'm a good friend of Rin, Kenta, and Seiya. I've come here to defend her."

Arthur asks, "But, how'd you get a hold of my warp key?"

"When your back was turned and you were about to slip that key back into your pocket," Bon starts, "one of the Takenaka Siblings had managed to grab it out of your hand without you noticing, and threw it to me. I simply put the key in the door, turned it, and was able to hear what you guys were saying about Seiya."

Timowas thinks for a moment then asks, "Suguro-san, just how well do you know Seiya?"

Seiya looks at Bon, and he looks at her, smiling. Bon looks at Timowas responding, "I've known her, Kenta, and Rin since the first day of cram school. I know her brother is a demon, she told me what happened to them five years ago, and he's already explained that. But, what neither of them knew was what her powers are. Well, she allowed me to do some research to figure it out. I know what she is, and why her flames deal massive damage to demons."

Mephisto looks at him with great interest. Everyone else pays close attention, save for Seiya, as Bon reveals, "Yes, she is a Fallen Angel. Her powers come from an early ancestor who was an actual Fallen Angel who remained on Earth. Truth is, he was framed by an ally of Satan's. He then fell in love with a human woman and had three kids, only two of them receiving his powers. However, these powers remained dormant for a very long time, and only passed on to her because not only was she first born, but her mother held the same dormant abilities. They just didn't activate till Seiya had to defend herself from her brother five years ago."

The Grigori are stunned. Seiya only glares up at them, holding Behemoth close. Kenta, Rin, Shura, and especially Mephisto are amazed at how old her powers are and where they really came from. Once more, the Grigori speak amongst themselves.

This prompts Bon to say, "I can assure you Seiya is not dangerous, and neither is her brother. Her flames won't harm humans. Heck, I don't think it's in her to harm a fly."

"Enough." one Grigori says.

Another speaks, "Despite the fact this girl is a Fallen Angel, she's still an enigma to us."

The third says, "However, she must meet the same conditions as the Son of Satan. No exceptions. Sure her flames may not harm humans, but who is to say they can't burn things down? White flames are present in that forest. She must learn to control her powers as well. Any loss of control, and the Vatican shall take command of the situation, no questions asked."

"A little harsh, no?" Mephisto asks.

"Would you rather she be killed?" one Grigori asks.

"No." Mephisto responds. "But I will have you be aware of one thing. You see that Fallen Angel down there holding tightly onto that hobgoblin? Fufufu, she isn't just a Fallen Angel as you choose to see her. She is a woman…and she is mine."

Those questioning the king of time are taken aback. A Fallen Angel and a demon in love with each other? It's greatly absurd to them. But what the king of time is really saying, is that he won't let them close regardless of what happens. The Grigori have little to no choice but to keep that in mind, unless they want to test Mephisto's limits. They finally come to a decision, agreeing on giving her the same terms as Rin, to pass the Exorcist exams in six months. If she is to fail, she is to drop her only goal and leave the academy for good. Still a harsh term, Mephisto has no choice but to accept; he's already hatching an idea to make them think otherwise later.

Meanwhile, in the First Aid room, Yukio has explained to the group of his and Rin's origin. While they are both the sons of Satan, he never did inherit the flames, meaning he is a normal human being. Rin, however, did inherit them, but his powers were sealed until just recently three months ago. The Exwires are not sure what to think. They know they can trust Yukio, not to mention the fact he's their instructor…but can they trust Rin now? To them, he's nothing more than an uncontrollable monster that could kill them. All they know is, they won't be able to see him the same way anymore.

After the trial, Rin begs Shura to help train him. He wants to learn to use Kurikara properly as well as his powers. Seiya eventually shows up, wanting the same training Rin's getting. Sure, she had full control of her powers back in the forest while she fought against Amaimon and then Rin to gain control of him, but something tells her that she still needs more training, and done the proper way. Shura sighs and tells the two that she'll help train the both of them. From that point on, the day is spent recovering from the event. That is, until nightfall.

While lying on his bed reading the latest manga issue, Mephisto does not detect Seiya entering his room. She carefully climbs onto the bed and slips a blindfold over his eyes. He smiles thinking she's getting kinky as she removes the manga from his hands and places it on a nightstand. The girl tells him to lie back in a seductive tone, making him think something fun is about to happen. When he feels her tie a rope around his wrist, he starts to think otherwise, but chooses to go with the flow at this point. Once he's bound to his bed, he asks what she's going to do as he playfully begs to be set free. This playful tone quickly switches to nervousness when he feels something being tied around his neck, arms, legs, and around his stomach.

Seiya takes off the blindfold, and finds to his horror that shock collars have been strapped onto him. His ears lower as he looks at her, wearing sexy red and black lingerie, and a very evil look on her face, toothy grin and all holding a remote.

"Um, hehe, S-Seiya, honey, w-what are you doing?" he asks becoming nervous. "T-this isn't quite how pain play is done…"

"Oh, this isn't pain play…" she responds. "This…is to teach you a lesson."

The king of time gulps as his spiral antenna goes limp, "A-a lesson? About what?"

"About keeping secrets like your brother from me." she responds.

Unknown to him, in another room, Amaimon has been stripped down to his boxers and tied up to a chair. His mouth has been taped shut, and the same shock collars have been strapped to his neck, arms, legs, and stomach. Seiya has managed to rig the collars so they all respond to one remote. The king of earth and king of time are more than doomed.

Mephisto tries to reason, "W-whoa Schatz, please! This is a bit much! Can't we talk about this?! Oh, I know! I'll uh, get you that antique you wanted!"

Seiya smirks saying, "Not good enough."

The king of time gulps once again. "C-come on Seiya, please let me go…"

"The safety word is a chess piece. Guess correctly and I just might stop." the girl replies quickly pressing the button starting at the lowest number.

It doesn't feel like much at first, until Seiya cranks up the numbers. Mephisto is left to guess the correct chess piece, and immediately guessing the Queen piece, thinking perhaps because he's the king and she'd be his queen. She climbs onto him, appears as if she's about to kiss him, but reels back saying "wrong" and shocks him again. In another room, Amaimon already knows the game and begs endlessly for his brother to guess the right chess piece. The problem is, Seiya only said she _might_ stop. That's when the king of earth realizes, she may not actually stop even if his brother does guess correctly.

Elsewhere on the campus, Kenta arrives at Bon's dorm room and knocks on the door. Bon opens the door finding a rather solemn Kenta, looking as if he just climbed out of bed. He invites the boy in asking what's on his mind.

"Bon I…" Kenta tries to begin. "I just, wanted to thank you for…for saving us back there."

"Saving you?" Bon asks. "Oh, you mean coming to Seiya's defense."

"Yeah."

"I can tell something else is bugging you."

"…It's just this whole mess. I…I don't get why I'm the lucky one."

"What do you mean?"

"Those Vatican pricks gave Rin and Seiya six months to pass the Exorcist Exams…yet here I stand like I was immune to it all. I have no special condition to prove myself…yet they do."

"Kenta… I think it's because you're the only one of the trio that has full control of his powers. Plus, despite having your heart broken, you regained control as if nothing happened."

"But WHY?! Why am I the only one?"

"Think about it, man. Seiya worked her butt off for the last five years to get you to control yourself. If you were to still be out of control…"

"…Then I'd be in the same situation as them…"

"Exactly."

"…"

"Look, be glad your sister made such a sacrifice for you. Whether she was thinking ahead or not, you have a dedicated sibling. If I were in her shoes, I'd do the same thing. She's got a big heart, and great intelligence. Be proud of that."

"…You're right. I should be happy my sister's done so much for me. But, why do I feel like this?"

"It's just your guilt speaking loudly. You'd rather it be you instead of her 'cause she's been through so much already."

"…Yeah."

"It'll be alright, Kenta. As long as I'm around, I won't let anyone mess with you two. Despite it only being three months, you two are kind of like family to me."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"…Thanks Bon."

"Seiya would probably kill me, but you wanna go get a soda?"

"F*ck yes."

"Haha, someone's feeling better!"

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Hayato has met up with Emi and Gazeru in a dark alley. They are dressed in large trench coats with large brim hats as if trying to avoid being noticed even in the dark. Gazeru puts up his own barrier so they may speak freely.

Hayato asks, "Were you followed?"

"Nope." Emi cheerily replies. "Were you?"

"Not at all." he answers.

Gazeru asks, "So, we all saw what happened last night in the forest. Rin lost all control of his powers, and Seiya's true form has emerged."

Hayato says, "Right. Kenta's the only one who is still in full control. We may not be able to act, but we still need to report our findings."

"What do you think Lucifer-sama wants to do with them? Has he said anything yet?" Emi asks.

"No, I haven't heard a thing. What about you, Gazeru?" Hayato asks.

Gazeru answers, "No, I haven't been told much either. All I know is he just wants the Takenaka Siblings."

"In that case, we better just report to HQ. I'm sure they'll come looking for us if we don't." Hayato suggests.

"I agree. Hmm, I'd actually like to return to base and see how Master's doing." Emi says.

Hayato responds, "I'm sure he's fine. Now then, you did remember to bring the papers, right?"

"Papers?" Emi asks.

Hayato facepalms, "Goddamn it Emi!"


	22. A New Plan

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Hey guys! I'm really sorry this took an extra week to get out. I've been ungodly busy with my friend's bridal shower coming up (one of 3 Maids of Honor), and other things health-wise. Until her wedding has happened (Sept 20), the chapters may not come out weekly, but rather every 2 weeks if I'm lucky. So just try to be patient, okay? Thank you! **End Note.**

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 22:  
A New Plan**

The next day, Shima is at the hospital speaking with his mother over the phone. The boy has received broken ribs from the fight, though is still able to move. Koneko is in surgery, and Bon appears to be more emotionally distraught about everything; he never did receive even a scratch from Amaimon, and is the only one of the Kyoto Trio unharmed. As he hangs up the phone, the Takenaka Siblings arrive. He sees the two and although isn't sure if he should be happy to see them or not, he can't help but smile at them. The Siblings approach him, the both of them carrying something.

"Hey Shima." Seiya starts. "Bon told us you guys would be here. How are you holding up?"

Shima replies, "I'm alright. My chest hurts like hell, but I've been through worse. How 'bout you guys?"

"We're okay." Kenta answers. "I think I'm more of an emotional mess than anyone here though, hehehe."

Seiya asks, "How's Koneko? I heard he was going into surgery?"

"Yeah, his arm is a complete mess. Whatever Amaimon did really screwed him up. But he should be fine once he's out." Shima says.

"That's good to hear." Seiya says. "Um, we stopped by one of the stores along the way and got all three of you something."

"Oh? Hahaha, you guys didn't have to do that!" Shima says.

"We wanted to. So here." Kenta says handing him a small teddy bear with a patched-up design.

Seiya hands him a small weasel plushie saying, "These are for you. We both have Koneko's in a bag but, since he's in surgery and all…"

"Aw, thanks you two. I'll hang onto the bag and give it to Koneko for you." Shima says taking the bag as well. "Bon's over there if you wanna see him."

"Okay great." Kenta says as he walks over.

Seiya shakes her head. She looks at Shima and can see some fear still lingers in his eyes. She says, "Shima, I know what happened yesterday morning has probably left you confused and afraid. But, Rin, Kenta, and I…we're not the ones you should be wary of."

He gains a serious look as he says, "I know. Bon told me how he came to your defense at the trial yesterday. He said your flames won't harm humans. I think I'm more in shock that you've hidden such beautiful flames from me this whole time, hahaha!"

Seiya giggles and goes on, "I don't want you to fear Rin either though. I know knowing he's the son of Satan is more than scary, but his flames only really kick in when his emotions are high, like if he's really mad or something. Out in the forest, he drew his sword and went berserk only because he wanted to not just protect me, but you guys too."

"So it isn't just his emotions then?" Shima asks trying to understand.

"It's a bit complicated, but he has less control over his powers than I do. Sure, I have a true form and all, but I still need a lot of work. You see, with Rin, when his emotions get in the way, his powers react. With me, it doesn't happen as badly; while his respond more to anger from what I'm getting, mine respond more to fear." Seiya explains.

"I see. What about your brother?" Shima says.

"Kenta's in full control, emotions and all. I sacrificed those five years to train him so something like that wouldn't happen. Mephy warned me about the Vatican and how heartless they can be, so I wanted to make sure he wouldn't end up in the same position as Rin and I." Seiya responds, then looks up at Shima. "But please, don't see Rin as a monster or just a son of Satan. You know him by now, and you know he'd never want to hurt you guys. He'd sacrifice himself long before he lets harm come to any of us. Regardless, he's still the same clumsy and excitable teenager you guys met three months ago."

Shima smiles saying, "I'll do my best for you then, Seiya. I can't say no to a pretty lady like you."

"Haha, careful now, you might make Mephy jealous." Seiya jokes.

Later at cram school, Rin and Kenta arrive for class, and find that only Nemu, Shiemi, and Izumo are there. Rin asks where the Kyoto Trio are and Izumo responds that they're at the hospital, with Koneko in surgery last she heard. The two happily take their seats, but start to wonder where Seiya is. When they hear her voice apologizing for being a tad late, everyone almost has a heart attack. Attached to a chain with a spiked collar around his neck is Amaimon. To really drive him up a wall, he isn't in his usual attire; instead he wears a regular school uniform with the jacket tied around his waist.

"S-Seiya…" Rin starts, his tail shooting straight up, "…WHAT THE F*CK?!"

"Oh, you guys are freaking over the so-called demon king of earth standing next to me, right?" Seiya asks with a rather sunny expression.

"Have you lost it? In case you forgot, he was ready to kill you!" Izumo fires.

Seiya wags a finger before gaining a sinister expression, "Oh don't worry, Izumo-chan. I taught him quite the lesson last night. You see, what better way to make Amaimon pay for what he did the other morning than have him act as my own personal body guard? I think it's a fair punishment. And, as part of this little deal, he is also to protect all of you as well. And if he misbehaves in any way…" she shows a small remote kept in her pocket, "…then I'll give him one hell of a shock to put him back in his place. Not bad, huh?"

Amaimon glares at her saying, "I can't believe big brother's letting you do this."

Kenta asks, "Hold on sis…do those Vatican bastards know anything about this?"

"In case you forgot, 'Mr. Broccoli-Spike' slipped through their fingers back there. They don't need to know jack at this point." Seiya replies. "Plus, my powers are almost back, so I can burn him if he misbehaves too."

"Ugh, you're an idiot!" Izumo says sinking into her seat.

Amaimon says agreeing with her, "Thank you!"

Izumo goes on, "Just what will Bon think when he sees this?"

"Oh, he already knows." Seiya answers holding up her cell phone. "Sure, he's still at the hospital with the other two, and he reacted the same way as you. But then he thought it'd be a good idea as pay back for hurting everyone. He came up with the condition that Amaimon is to protect everyone and not just me."

"{Why didn't I just go back to Gehenna?}" Amaimon thinks when Behemoth walks in. "Behemoth?"

"Oh yeah, almost forgot." Seiya says as she picks up the golden hobgoblin. "His Familiar and I befriended each other yesterday, and Amaimon hates to be away from Behemoth. So in a twisted way, I have willing bait."

"Oh dear God…" Rin says facepalming.

Izumo says, "Well, you have another problem. His name. You can't exactly call him by his real name wherever we go."

Seiya responds, "Actually, I was hoping you guys might be able to help me with that. I'm not sure what name would fit him."

"{There's always just plain 'Asshole'.}" Rin thinks. "Well, what kind of name are you looking for?"

"Any kind at this point." Seiya answers.

Amaimon growls, "Hold on a sec! Why can't I pick my own fake name—eh?"

Seiya holds up the remote, "You wanna start having a bad day, Amaimon?"

Kenta says, "Hmm, I dunno why, but he looks like a 'Tyler' to me…"

Rin says, "You know, he reminds me of a character…Why not 'Odd'?"

"Odd? The hell kinda name is that?" Amaimon demands, eyebrow twitching.

Seiya says, "His name means 'point of a sword' if I remember correctly."

Izumo smirks suggesting, "Why not Burokkorii?"

Everyone can't help but giggle at the thought, thinking back to how his spike looked like broccoli after Koneko's rocket accidentally hit it. Apparently, somebody had shared that story.

Amaimon is at a loss for words before he growls, "If you think for one second you're calling me that!"

"Nah, as mean as I want to be, I can't call him that." Seiya chuckles.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Amaimon yells. "Why not one of my brother's nicknames? Raven, Loki, something along those lines will do!"

"Oh, Loki would be perfect after the hell he caused." Izumo says.

"Hmm, he doesn't look like a Loki to me though…" Seiya responds.

Rin says snapping his fingers, "Oh, I got it! How about 'Tobias'?"

Amaimon nearly begs, "Okay, that actually sounds cool! Pick that one, Seiya! Please!"

Seiya sighs, "Alright, alright. Tobias it is."

Amaimon falls to his knees breathing a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness!"

Seiya then instructs Amaimon to take a seat in the back handing him an Azumanga Daiyoh manga and undoing the chains. He heads for the back, sits down and goes to lean back putting his feet up when he suddenly realizes there's no back support to the bench and falls flat on his back. Regardless, he begins reading the manga. The girl sits next to her brother with Behemoth in her arms and notices Shiemi seems more than uneasy with Rin sitting next to her. Rin catches on to her aura, and tries to ask her what's up. When she can't express her feelings without harming him, Yukio walks into the room with another instructor catching the argument. He quickly grabs his brother's shoulder and announces that Rin and Seiya would be participating in a different curriculum. Hearing this, Kenta goes to argue, but Seiya stands up telling him to forget it. She calls for Amaimon who sighs, saves the page he's on, and joins them. The blonde-haired instructor, Yunokawa, takes over Yukio's class while he leads the three to another part of the school.

Along the way, Seiya asks Yukio why Kenta isn't coming along. He replies since he's already in full control of his powers and isn't considered a threat, he can continue his regular studies. The younger twin goes on that since she and Rin only have six months to pass the Exorcist Exams that they need to start their new training now. Amaimon gains slight interest asking if this means the two can't train like they had been before. Yukio responds that while they still can in order to increase their attacks' strength, they need to focus on a new kind more.

As they head down a staircase, Yukio states that Rin can't go anywhere on his own anymore which only angers him. He then asks if Seiya gets the same restraint. Although she can produce flames, considering they don't harm humans, she isn't given the same one; except, she isn't allowed to leave school grounds. This surprises her, prompting her to say it's like she's a Page all over again. It also makes her upset, thinking she won't be able to go out with Mephisto anymore. Yukio reveals she's lucky to be dating him at all; as long as he's with her outside school grounds, they can do whatever they want. Amaimon huffs and rolls his eyes at this.

At last they arrive at a lower level to what looks like a large door. Instead, it's just another dramatic design making it look bigger. Yukio opens the door and allows them through. The trio discovers they've entered a gym; weight lifting equipment and odd-looking batting cages fill the room. They take particular interest in the batting cages, Yukio stating it's meant to help train Exorcists against small fry like hobgoblins. Behemoth takes slight offense to this, due to the fact he isn't the same as other hobgoblins.

As Rin sets up the mode in his cage, Seiya decides to follow suit in the neighboring one. No longer interested in the manga, Amaimon decides to set up in a neighboring cage to Seiya. Rin's cage, set for beginner, already begins his round, having a slight issue batting away the balls. Seiya appears to have little trouble, dodging the balls she can't hit. The king of earth doesn't even bother with a bat, using his claws to swing at the balls flying at him; this proves a bad idea as the machine comically aims for his head, then his stomach, and finally below the belt, knocking him to the ground. Behemoth quickly slips into his master's cage and becoming as big as a large dog, bats away the balls using his arms. He shows some intent of wanting to become strong himself, knowing he'll be up against some trouble later on.

After a couple minutes, Shura shows up, wearing a dark colored kimono that's a bit shorter than expected. Although Seiya knows she wears nothing more than a bra and short-shorts, something she can't wrap her mind around, this bothers her; it looks more like she just crawled out of bed. Although it isn't a bad view from Amaimon's position; he's still on the floor and now suffers from a slight nosebleed. Both Yukio and Behemoth appear displeased as well, thinking she should be dressed. The gold hobgoblin returns to his small size and jumps up onto Yukio's head, not wanting to accidentally look up the kimono.

Rin and Seiya exit their cages, and Shura comments on how Rin's letting his tail hang out like a monkey. The teen responds he felt restricted hiding it, and that letting it stay loose feels better. That's when Shura says that although she's glad he's optimistic, she reveals to the both of them that they're under Yukio and Shura's watch; at least more Shura's watch than anything, and neither are allowed to go anywhere without either. Seiya's the only one to luck out due to her dating the director; she can go anywhere so long as she's with him too. That's when Rin asks about Amaimon being pulled around like a dog, even though Seiya had explained the situation earlier.

"Huh? Oh that." Shura goes. "Well, I'm sure Seiya explained it already. It was a deal between her, Mephisto, and as I heard Bon as well. I approached Mephisto on the issue, and he said that he felt unsure about something, that she should have more than just Masami around."

Seiya tilts her head in confusion asking, "Could he be sensing something in the works, maybe?"

"It's possible. He definitely looked uneasy. Oh that reminds me Seiya, I saw a mark on his neck when I spoke with him. Is he okay?" Shura asks.

Trying to play stupid, Seiya replies, "A mark on his neck? No, he must've done something after I left; I never saw anything."

"{Oh you little liar~! And you're supposed to be an angel; this I like~.} In that case, let's return to the topic at hand here." Shura responds easily sensing the lie.

"{YOU BITCH, SEIYA!}" Amaimon shouts in his head as he stands up.

Shura plops two bags in front of the two indicating they're filled with candles. To start, the two are to line up three candles and only light up the two on the ends. Although despite the fact Rin can use his flames without Kurikara being drawn, Seiya has had her hands sealed the last five years, which means her power has had nowhere to go. Shura discovered it's actually too late to try and seal Seiya's powers within a weapon because of how she managed to keep them suppressed, so she's going to have a more difficult time with this exercise. The Exorcist suggests meditating before launching her flames.

As Rin quickly gets to work, burning up to half the bag within minutes, Seiya sits in front of her set trying to figure out how to gain perfect focus. Then it hits her. She gets up and walks to her bag, pulls out a Naruto manga, and plops back down in front of her candles. As Shura states she wants the both of them to do this every day for an hour, Seiya finds the perfect way to gain her focus. Copying a simple handsign from the manga, she holds her hands in front of her face and calms herself. The others watch with interest, especially Rin. Trying to recall where the candles are positioned, and gaining a decent amount of focus, a small flame appears on her fingers. She opens her eyes and makes a different handsign which ignites the flames on the candles. Sadly enough, she burns all three of them, creating larges puddles of wax on the ground. Her shocked expression says it all as Amaimon laughs like a hyena, and the others try to hide theirs.

"Kahahaha!" Shura laughs. "Well, I'll give you points for having the right idea in mind at least, Seiya. But now I see how far you really have to go."

"This is priceless, hahahaha!" Amaimon says. "She really has no control at all over her powers! Hahaha!"

Seiya shoots him a nasty death glare as she growls, "Unless you want to re-experience true terror again, I highly suggest you SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

The king of earth taunts, "Oh, I'm so scared~!"

As a retaliation, Seiya sends a stream of flames his way. Although he isn't seriously injured like before, his laughter turns to horror as his spike is now the new candle; a small white flame dances atop his spike. Seiya gains a victorious expression as the others laugh, Rin in tears on the ground saying it's better than the broccoli accident. Amaimon licks his index finger and thumb and puts out the small flame.

"Okay, I've had enough." Amaimon speaks.

"Oh come on, she got it right that time!" Rin says as he sits up, wiping away a tear.

Yukio speaks, "But his hair isn't a candle, so it doesn't count. Can we try to be serious about this?"

"Say that to the puddle of wax on the floor." Seiya says pointing to it.

"Aw, c'mon Yukio, stop being such a sourpuss, ya four-eyed chicken." Shura teases.

Amaimon sighs becoming frustrated and says sitting down grabbing the manga he paused, "So how long till either of them can control their flames? I wanna play again with an unlimited amount of time."

Shura replies, "Till both learn to not fear their powers. All of us here know that regardless of her training, Seiya still fears them because of what happened, and that's normal. She suppressed them for the reason she didn't want to hurt her brother again. But the thing that sets those two siblings apart is the fact Kenta used that fear as his motivation. He got over it and from there learned to control his powers to the point of creating his own attacks. Seiya, on the other hand, kept her abilities hidden and tried to forget about them. This has hindered her ability to control them, which is why she can barely damage anything in her normal state."

"{…She's…she's right! Man…I have to actually catch up to Kenta now… D-did I…make a mistake?}" Seiya thinks.

"Rin is actually the same way, expect for him, he isn't weak. His flames are too strong. So every time he draws his sword, the flames overwhelm him because of this fear. He needs to learn to gain control before he can start 'playing' with you again." Shura continues.

"{A-amazing…she's absolutely right!}" Rin thinks.

"The both of them fear their powers, but only Kenta was able to overcome it. This training will allow them to gain confidence before I can have them move on to the next level. It's gonna be a long, bumpy road, but, I know they can pull it off." Shura concludes.

Seiya says, "In that case, I'll give this training 110%! I swear I'll get over this five year-long fear and gain control of my powers!"

Rin agrees, "Same here Seiya! Let's both work our asses off with this!"

Amaimon watches as the two try again, "{…Seiya's still afraid? And Rin's afraid too? So if Seiya wasn't afraid…she could have killed me in that form of hers. Or I'd be out of a vessel at least. I wonder if this is why Big Brother is so protective of her? But what would he think if she could defend herself? Would he still be protective? Hmm… I think I see it now. In that case…if I'm going to be stuck with her like this, then I need to learn to protect her for brother's sake. Plus, I'm sure Behemoth would be upset if she got hurt bad; he has bonded with her all of a sudden. Hmm… Protecting her would also mean the possibility of fighting stronger opponents. This might not be such a bad thing.}"


	23. Spiders of Miasma

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Hey guys! Things have strangely gotten hectic here. With my friend's Wedding quickly coming up on Sept 20th, and my dad having lost his job, everything just went to hell in a hand basket quicker than I thought. So these chapters might come out biweekly until things settle down. Please bare with me. **End Note.**

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 23:  
Spiders of Miasma**

Meanwhile in his office, Mephisto sits at his desk. Mizu is with him, cutely playing with a yarn ball he took interest in. The king of time appears to be having trouble focusing on the paperwork in front of him, and tries to look at something on his computer, but something is clearly on his mind. He sighs, rubbing the right side of his neck; a noticeable red mark has been left behind from the shock collar. Other marks exist, but luckily for him, he can hide them all. The only problem is those spots are now incredibly tender, and even he is amazed that his demonic abilities have yet to heal them. The tricky headmaster has asked Mizu to help him out, but the little chimera has been instructed not to, leaving Mephisto in a tight spot.

He sighs again, "What a mess I've gotten myself into. I mean…I was _dominated_ last night, and neither chess piece was the safety word. The only thing that got me out of it was promising I'd never lie to her again… But how am I supposed to do that if she asks me if she looks fat or not in a certain article of clothing?!"

Mizu laughs, "_Well then, you're screwed!_"

"Ngh, you keep quiet!"

"_Oh I will…for a price~!_"

"Oh come on! Stop becoming a Seiya clone!"

"_Actually all I'm looking for is lobster._"

"…In that case, follow me."

Back at the gym, Shura has challenged Yukio to an old-running bet they had started five years ago. The game is putting the batting cage's difficulty on infinity mode, and whoever loses their concentration first treats the winner to a meal; in Yukio's case, if he wins, she stops calling him "scaredy cat four eyes". The others are stunned at how well they're able to deflect the balls being shot at them, even when Shura tries cheating by deflecting a ball at Yukio. As this goes on, Rin becomes a bit angered, and loses control of his flames. This causes Seiya's to react, canceling out the blue flames so they don't harm her.

When the flames do clear, everyone finds that Shura and Yukio's clothes have been burned off, but in a comical relief, their underwear remain untouched; even their skin didn't burn. Seiya immediately unties Amaimon's jacket from around his waist and rushes to Shura trying to cover her with it. The both of them look back at Rin who gives a shocked but innocent look and tries to pass off not burning their underwear or skin by saying it means he has some control of his flames. As Rin hurries off to grab a fire extinguisher to put out the remaining flames, Yukio's phone rings as Shura is able to cover up, buttoning the jacket.

While Seiya works on neutralizing the remaining blue flames with hers as Rin tries to work the fire extinguisher, Yukio reveals that something's going on at the old Northern True Cross Dormitory; it's been infested with Coal Tar, and those afflicted with temptaints are civilians. Hearing "Coal Tar", Amaimon thinks it might be Astorath, but recalls he was defeated three months ago. Yukio denies it being the Demon King of Rot, but states the cause for all this is unknown, and those that have a Meister in Doctor are gathering. He asks Shura if she's one too. Although she agrees, she points out that neither of them can leave Rin behind.

"Wait a sec, you're gonna leave me here?" Seiya asks. "Am I actually able to rejoin the others?"

Yukio replies, "Technically as of today you really can't. But now that I think of it, Mizu has the ability to heal others, right?"

"Yeah he does." Seiya answers.

"In that case," Shura starts, "hurry and grab Mizu. We might need some extra help out there."

"And what am I to do, exactly?" Amaimon asks.

Seiya answers, "Simple: you're coming with us…Tobias."

"{…Dammit.}" Amaimon thinks.

Meanwhile, in the Northern True Cross District 5 area, Hayato and Emi are already on the scene. As Hayato is busy treating those inflicted with temptaints, Emi and Gazeru are busy investigating. Turns out the hellhound cannot go far, his nose picking up strong levels of miasma around the area. It's too dangerous to go any further without protective gear.

"Hmm, so if the miasma's heavy, then that only means one thing." Emi says.

"One of the Eyes of the Impure King has been stolen. Dammit!" Gazeru growls.

"Hehehe, you really wanted that eye, huh?"

"If I got hold of it, I could revive one of my siblings. His spirit's done nothing but haunt a small forest in Italy for the last several years."

"Oh yeah that's right, you have a brother in the Rot Tribe! But how would that work?"

"All I'd need to do is ingest the eye and spit out the miasma it produces within the forest. With the eye destroyed, its remaining energy would be absorbed by his spirit, and combined with my blood, he'd be reborn."

"In that case, we'll just have to get the other eye before someone else does~!"

"Either eye works. But if that's the case, we need to hurry."

"Then let's go! Hunt down the other eye, Gazeru!"

Amaimon, Rin, Yukio, Seiya, and Shura arrive on the scene with Mizu, having used Masami to reach the area quickly. When Seiya sees the boils on those affected, she quickly realizes that miasma is at work here. That means she'll be unable to follow the group, recalling how badly poisoned she was before by that ghoul during the Exwire Exams. Shura instructs her and Mizu to help the injured; Amaimon at this point has no choice but to stay with her. As the others are filled in on what's going on, discovering there's now a hostage situation, Yukio and a small group of Exorcists put on protective suits and bring with them a canary in a cage.

Seeing the little bird and knowing what it'll be used for, Masami sends a small jolt through the group, demanding them to put down the bird. The Air Demon decides she'll go in the bird's place. The others aren't sure what to make of Masami's display, but Yukio agrees with her, saying that she'll be able to sense danger and the miasma better than the canary. Leaving the little bird behind, they venture into the building where the thief is.

As Seiya focuses on aiding those with boils by injecting them with the appropriate antidote, something suddenly catches her eye in an alley. She looks around, seeing Shura is distracted and Mizu using his healing abilities on an old man. Amaimon is carrying a heavy box over to one of the Doctor Exorcists. Going against her better nature, she finishes with the victim, and slips into the alley undetected. The girl follows the narrow space to a dead end with a dumpster. She readies herself with her Kunai Blade, holding it in a defensive position.

"Alright, whoever you are…" Seiya starts. "I saw you out of the corner of my eye. And I know you're here. So reveal yourself!"

To her surprise, silky threads are thrown at her. She shoots out a stream of flames, and the threads burn up into nothing. It hits her then that these aren't just threads, but threads a spider weaves to form a web. Knowing they can't escape, the person in question appears, wearing a large cloak and a strange mask.

"Hmm, so my webs are ineffective against you, huh?" the disguised voice asks.

Seiya replies with a confident look, "Considering those spider webs are demonic, they don't stand a chance against my angelic flames. It'd be wise to throw in the towel now to save yourself the trouble of fighting me here."

"…Angelic flames? So, you are not the spawn of a demon?"

"I'm not, no. Though I should be the one asking you that. Speaking of which, just who are you?"

"…Guess I have no choice. You know Igor, correct?"

"The ex-instructor that nearly killed me and tried murdering Rin? How can I forget?"

"He's my husband."

Seiya's eyes widen in a comical fashion, "Wait, he's gay?!"

The masked person facepalm saying, "No no…" they remove the mask, the voice now clear and feminine, as well as revealing her face, "I'm his wife."

Seiya is unable to believe it. She argues that Neuhaus said his wife died during the Blue Night, when he became possessed and Satan killed her through him. The woman, who she finds to be beautiful, responds that she isn't sure how she is alive, but she does plan on destroying the son of Satan. The girl facepalms at this, getting tired of the broken record that constantly plays everywhere. When they both hear Shura angrily calling for Seiya, the woman quickly says her name before using the webs to scale the dead end and get away.

Shura appears and kicks an empty can at Seiya's head, the metal trash bouncing off her head and falling to the ground. The tiny wings that hover to her sides flare up for a couple seconds when the can hit before the girl turns to look at the Exorcist, rubbing her head.

"What was that for, Shura-sama?" Seiya asks.

Shura replies, "For sneakin' off on me! What are ya doin' back here?"

"I saw someone slip into the alley and they looked suspicious. I followed them here and found…it was Neuhaus's wife, Michelle."

"What? Seiya, that's impossible! She died 15 years ago."

"Then explain why I saw her now hurling spider webs at me."

"{Spider webs? Was she…?} C'mon Seiya. We need to get back so you can help the injured."

"I guess you're right."

Seiya walks over to Shura and the girls return to the scene. Yukio's team has emerged, and although they are successful at rescuing the hostage – a little boy – the assailant has gotten away. Yukio still can't believe who it is – a fellow Exorcist, Saburota Todou, but as of now there isn't much he can do. Todou had apparently become a demon and turned on everyone, clearly having full control of the miasma.

Mephisto then appears, wearing his white jacket and pink pants and eating a popsicle, he praises the Okumura Twins for their excellent work. However, when he sees Seiya, his spiral antenna twitches; he can still feel the pain of the shock collars placed around him. He shakes this off and explains the incident here was a distraction, as the real Left Eye of the Impure King has been stolen. Shura has a Familiar tracking Todou as they speak, having sent the snake after him when she became suspicious.

"Wait, hold on…" Seiya interrupts. "What's this Left Eye thing anyway?"

Amaimon is the one to answer, "It's a bit of a long story, but many years ago, this monk confronted a powerful demon called the Impure King, whose ability is spreading disease via miasma. The monk managed to defeat him, and taking the two eyes separated them to hidden locations to be sure that no one ever obtains them. But it seems like this Todou-guy has gotten his hands on the Left Eye, which means he now has control over part of the Impure King's power. I think you can see for yourself the result."

"Hm, color me impressed, Tobias, that was well put!" Mephisto responds.

Amaimon's ears twitch and he growls, "How'd you learn that name?!"

Seiya holds up her cell phone saying, "Duh."

"Anyway, Tobias is correct. Dear Seiya, this situation might be too much for you to handle, especially considering you're very weak to miasma." the king of time says.

"I can't sit around and do nothing." Seiya argues. "Mizu can heal these nasty boils, so if anything, I can have him do that."

"He can heal miasma boils? Very impressive!" Mephisto says before turning to Yukio. "Anyway, Yukio, because of the situation at hand, I'm putting together a group of Elite Exorcists, and I'd like you to be a part of this team. I'll be needing your skills."

"…Understood, Sir Pheles." Yukio replies.

Mephisto responds, "Good. I'll see you at Central Base in one hour."

Before he goes to leave, Rin stops him and asks, "Hey uh, Mephisto, what's with that mark on your neck?"

His antenna droops, "{He could see that?! Damn, I thought this high collar would cover it!} Uh, it's nothing to worry about."

"But it looks pretty painful." Rin goes on.

Shura can't help but giggle-snort seeing the look on the tricky headmaster's face. Seiya stands behind Rin with her arms crossed shooting the king of time a cocky look, as if teasing him about the mark she left behind. Once again, Mephisto shrugs it off as nothing and walks away, with Yukio following behind. Rin calls out to his brother, saying he'll surpass him. A bit stunned, Yukio looks away responding that it would never happen and to keep himself out of trouble.

Later that day, once Seiya has returned to the Academy with her Familiars, she approaches Mephisto on a different matter – the fact she encountered Michelle earlier. Even he finds this strange, saying that she died on the Blue Night. That's when his phone rings. He answers it only to receive word something's attacked the monastery that the Okumura Twins used to live at. Mephisto responds saying he'll send a team quickly, hangs up, and looks at Seiya.

"Something happen?" she asks.

He replies, "Turns out your 'friend' has gone after the Okumuras' old home. Would you like to go?"

Seiya's eyes light up with excitement, "A mission? Really? …But wait, Shura-sama's training Rin right now.

Mephisto leans down to her and says, "Who says you need her? You've got me, remember?"

"…" she facepalms responding, "Wow okay, I'm tired!"

Amaimon responds shoving a small cupcake in his mouth, "In that case, have fun you two."

"Oh no, you're coming too, Tobias." Mephisto growls. "Last thing I need is to return to an empty plate of sweets and you with an overstuffed bottomless pit of a stomach."

"Tch, why do I have to go?" Amaimon demands.

Seiya responds, "What if he can't protect me?"

"{Dammit!}" the earth king thinks.

Seiya decides to contact Kenta, thinking this mission will help take his mind off what's going on with her and Rin, but he doesn't answer. She tries again, but this time Kyou answers. The little snake tells her that Kenta is busy training in the forest with Emi and Hayato, and is suddenly cut off with a loud crash. Seiys sighs; her brother won't be joining her.

A little bit later, Amaimon, Mephisto, Seiya, and Mizu arrive on the scene. Several other Exorcists are investigating the scene. The group is allowed inside and they find that the remaining members of the monastery have been cocooned in the demonic webs. The webbing is so strong, that it would take forever to create a substance strong enough to melt it. The other problem, those in the cocoons only have about eight hours before it's too late.

Mizu already tries his healing ability, but it has no effect. The little chimera tries his water, and still nothing. Seiya knows what needs to be done. She looks at one of the cocooned members, holds up her hand, but stops. The words Shura spoke earlier today about her fear rings in her mind. She shakes this off knowing her flames won't injure humans, but something has her bugged. _Seiya kept her abilities hidden and tried to forget about them. This has hindered her ability to control them_, is what echoes in her mind.

She then feels a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. Seiya turns finding it's Mephisto, smiling at her as a means of reassuring her. The girl closes her eyes for a moment, then gains a confident smirk and nods. As Mephisto removes his hand, Seiya uses the handsign from earlier with her free hand. A fireball grows in her other hand, and with the right concentration, shoots it at the cocoon. The webbing quickly burns away, turning to harmless residue. With one member free, Mizu rushes over to try and heal up any injuries. The man is startled at first, but once the chimera places his claw gently on his arm, the need to panic is gone.

As Seiya works on the other members, Amaimon has a look around, and finds cryptic writing in a foreign language on the wall written in red. He can't decipher what it says and calls over his brother. When Mephisto takes a look, he can tell it's Polish, but isn't sure what it says. Though he has a feeling it has something to do with Rin; why else would the attacker go after the Okumuras' old home? However, there's something more within the webbing hanging around the room. Amaimon climbs up the webs and finds a butcher knife oddly placed within. As he pulls it out, the web reveals what the knife is really stabbing: a wood carving of an angel.

"Um, big brother, I think we have a problem…" Amaimon says.

Mephisto asks, "What is it, Tobias?"

The earth king drops down, shows what he found and says, "That women Seiya spoke of earlier, I don't think she likes her either."

A surge of anger shoots through the time king's body, but he quickly regains his composure and calms down. Seiya joins the two once she aids the last monastery member, and nearly shrieks at the sight of the object Amaimon holds.

"Why would she be after me? I'm not related to—" Seiya goes to ask, then pauses.

Mephisto sighs, "I think it's due to two things: you're friends with the son of Satan, and you're dating a demon. Don't forget, this is Neuhaus's wife. She could easily be doing this on his behalf."

"Guess it's a good thing I'm your bodyguard, Seiya." Amaimon says, as he starts biting one of his long nails. "Seems like I might actually get to play this time."

"Yeah well, calm down before you start pitching a tent. You're looking a bit too excited, Tobias." Seiya says, making Mephisto cover his mouth to try and hide his snicker.

"Anyway, this isn't good." Mephisto says. "Seiya, be a dear and take care of the rest of the webbing."

"Got it!" Seiya responds.

With pictures of evidence to the crime taken, Seiya takes care of any and all webbing she can find. Successfully drained once more, the girl retreats to the pink limo and lies back on one of the seats. The monastery members escaped lucky with minor injuries that Mizu has taken care of in a pinch. Amaimon, now bored out of his mind, joins Seiya in the car, sits on the floor, and pulls out a Nintendo DS. He looks over at the exhausted girl as she drifts off to sleep.

"{First the Left Eye of the Impure King, now this odd situation. Depending on what happens, it seems like I'll be fighting someone. Hmm…I wonder what's going to happen next?}" he thinks before returning to his game.

Later that night, in Mephisto's Office, the king of time tries to charm his woman into having some naughty fun outside the bedroom for a change, but she has a strong refusal that he cannot break.

"Come on Schatz, your teasing isn't pushing me away; it's only pulling me in~!" Mephisto says in a playful tone.

Seiya once more keeps him at arm's length saying, "Not tonight, Mephy. I've exhausted myself to the point I can't even get an ember going."

"Ah, but I can help you regain that energy if you let me."

"I'm just not feeling it tonight."

Mephisto lets out a frustrated sigh, "Hey, I think I deserve something after what you did to me last night. And the teasing you pulled with that lingerie; how can I possibly resist?"

Seiya pulls out the shock collar again making him flinch, "Do I need to emphasize?"

He holds up his hands in surrender, "Nope!"

"I'm just gonna head to bed early." Seiya says as she walks out the room.

A bit perplexed, Mephisto sighs knowing she has no interest in fun tonight. When he notices the shock collar lying on his desk, he flings it off onto the floor.

As he goes to open a drawer, Amaimon pops out of the closet with a small bag of popcorn and asks, "Wow, talk about cock-blocking, huh brother?"

"AMAIMON?! How long were you in there?!" Mephisto freaks.

"When you started rubbing her shoulders. Did you anger her or something?"

"…I may have pushed a bit too much. But I'm certain I did nothing earlier."

"Hmph, poor brother just wasn't lucky for two nights."

Mephisto retaliates throwing one of his small statues at Amaimon's head, successfully knocking him to the floor.


	24. The Troubles Begin!

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Hey guys! Things have strangely gotten hectic here. With my friend's Wedding quickly coming up on Sept 20th, and my dad having lost his job, everything just went to hell in a hand basket quicker than I thought. So these chapters might come out biweekly until things settle down. Please bare with me. **End Note.**

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 24:  
The Troubles Begin!**

Early the next morning, Seiya finds herself on the roof of the mansion lying on her back looking up at the sky, alongside Masami and Behemoth. She can't help but think back to last night about how the monastery was attacked and what Amaimon found within the webs. The two Familiars seem a bit shaken themselves, but not because of what happened yesterday, but more because of the deal with the Left Eye. Masami especially seems strongly bothered, turning her head suddenly in each direction similar to that of a wild bird. Behemoth simply tries remaining calm; any kind of uneasy flare might get Seiya going as well.

A feather suddenly pops off of Masami's body. She notices it's one of her crown feathers. The avian appears even more disturbed than she was a minute ago, watching as the feather falls gently before it's carried by the breeze.

Masami finally speaks, an uneasiness clearly within her voice, "Um, Y-Young Master, may I ask a favor of you?"

"What's the matter, Masami?" Seiya asks. "Your plumage looks terrible today."

"Yes, well, you see, I need to go somewhere. O-on my own." the bird replies.

"_On your own? But won't that be dangerous?_" Behemoth asks.

Masami answers, "Not for me. I've struggled in Gehenna for a long time before answering to Seiya. Assiah's no different in some ways."

Seiya asks sitting up, "But where do you need to go? And what for?"

"Another town. I have a cousin there I need to see. {It's odd. I know he came here to Assiah many years ago, but I haven't sensed him until yesterday. Something's up.}" Masami replies.

"Masami, you do realize that if I let you go, I'm out the best Familiar I've got." Seiya says.

The avian turns to her master and says, "I have a feeling we'll meet up sooner than you think. I know Mizu isn't meant for battle, but don't forget, you've befriended others too. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help and protect you in battle until we reunite."

Seiya looks at Behemoth and says, "Well, that's true. But does this mean I'm releasing you or something?"

"_Not at all, Seiya-chan._" Behemoth answers. "_You can still call her back even if she's gone. It's all in the bond._"

Masami nods when Seiya looks at her. The girl sighs then says, "Well, if you really need to find your cousin, then go on ahead. Just don't get hurt."

"I won't, Young Master." Masami says.

Seiya stands up to hug her first Familiar, and Masami returns this with her wings. With a tearful goodbye, Masami takes off into the sky, using the cover of the clouds to remain hidden. Both the girl and golden hobgoblin watch as the avian bird disappears from sight. Behemoth jumps onto Seiya's shoulder. She smiles and pets him.

Breaking the silence, Behemoth asks, "_So…what now?_"

"I'd really like to look for Michelle…but I don't know where to start. Plus, it's not like I can leave without Yukio, Shura, or Mephisto." Seiya answers, looking for a way back inside.

"_Hmm, you know, I want to ask you something._"

"If it's about me cock-blocking Mephy, you can shut up now."

Meanwhile, elsewhere on campus, Kenta walks around the grounds with Kyou on his shoulder. He is heading to the forest when the little Tsuchinoko notices something odd. Kenta stops as the snake points out an odd-looking spider web on the gates surrounding this part of the forest. He walks over to inspect it, only to be ambushed and wrapped up in said webs. The ambusher quickly collects him and rushes off. What they didn't plan on was being caught in the act by a bystander.

Back at the mansion, Seiya has found her way back inside and is walking through the halls when her cell phone rings. She answers it to hear Shima on the other end freaking out about a possible spider demon having captured her brother and his familiar on their way to the forest. The girl's eyes widen; she knows for a fact Michelle has found her way to the academy. But why would she go after Kenta when Seiya never brought him up in their initial encounter? She tells him she'll be right there and hangs up, but then remembers, Masami is no longer around the fly her anywhere.

Behemoth nudges her, "_Did you forget I can become bigger? You can ride on my back, Seiya-chan!_"

"But, what about Amaimon?"

"_Tch, time is everything right now! C'mon, to that window over there!_"

"…Right!"

At the entrance to the forest, Shima waits patiently for Seiya to arrive, although greatly creeped out from what he witnessed. After a few minutes, Seiya finally arrives on a giant Behemoth's back; the hobgoblin has grown to the size of a tank, if not slightly bigger. Shima is surprised at this, asking why she didn't take Masami. Seiya responds that Masami had a great need to go locate her cousin in another town, so she's left with only Mizu, but due to her befriending, she has others. As the trio heads into the forest, Shima puts together his K'rik despite not being fully prepared for a fight, especially with bugs. His discomfort grows the deeper they tread, following the bits of webs strewn about.

As they head deeper into the forest, they notice that the tree cover is so dense, that light from the sun can't even get through. Seiya has her tiny wings light up to produce light. Finally, they come to a closed clearing where Kenta is found still fully trapped in the web cocoon. Seiya wants to jump out and help her brother, but she knows that'd be too easy. Michelle must be nearby somewhere, but where? That's when she appears from the brush, still wearing the cloak with the hood up. When she pulls the hood down knowing it's pointless to hide her identity, Shima gains hearts for eyes until Seiya shuts him down saying Michelle is Neuhaus's wife.

Michelle speaks, "I know you're there, Fallen Angel. I can smell the stench of demons on you."

Seiya indeed comes out of hiding followed by Shima and the tank-sized Behemoth saying, "Fine, you got me. But, how do you know I'm a Fallen Angel? For all you know, these flames are demonic."

Michelle chuckles lightly saying, "Well if they aren't demonic, then what else could they be? Sure, there aren't any angelic flames anywhere in the world, save for yours. Plus, one of my Familiars stuck around to watch you burn up the webs at the monastery. Even they could tell it was holy."

"Hm, impressive. But now I need to ask why you captured my brother." Seiya says.

Michelle looks at her confused, "Your…brother?"

"Yes." Seiya responds walking over to him. "The boy you captured wasn't Rin. Yes, my brother is a demon, but you're still far off. Kenta is the spawn of a Rot Demon, not Satan."

The baffled look on the woman's face says it all. Seiya shoots a fireball at the cocoon, setting her brother free as Kyou comically gasps for air before passing out. Kenta sits up and looks at his captor angrily. But then he's confused; the person that captured him is a woman?

"Hold on." Shima says. "Why are you after Rin in the first place?"

Looking at him, Michelle replies, "It's because of those flames, I died that night. But now that the spawn of Satan is alive, I must rid this world of him!"

Kenta sighs, "Lady, you're out of luck 'cause technically there are two spawns; he's got a twin brother who never inherited the blue flames. So even if you kill Rin, you're still in as much danger with his brother."

"What?!" the woman says shocked as her eyes widen. "Two were born?"

They all nod. Shima answers even if he's a bit terrified, "And even if you want Rin, you'd have to go through his friends first!"

"I…I can't believe this… Not only are there two, but to think they have friends!" Michelle says, trapped in awe.

Kenta stands saying, "Yeah, you're greatly out of luck. Plus, I find it odd with you. By the looks of it, you were revived by a demon, no? Kehehe, you should be on our side then."

"KENTA!" Seiya yells.

"What? It's true!" he responds.

"NEVER!" Michelle shouts as she sends out a swarm of baseball-sized spiders.

Shima freaks and runs for dear life but is cut off by the swarm. Both the Takenaka Siblings draw their weapons, and using their flames quickly do away with the swarm. Behemoth moves quickly enough to pin Michelle to a tree, growling and snarling at her. He makes sure to use both his claws, countering any other move she has in mind.

Seiya says approaching her, "Give it up, Michelle. If you surrender, you might get a light sentence."

At that moment, several Naberius arms fly towards the over-sized hobgoblin. They overwhelm him to the point of pushing off Michelle, allowing her to get away. The others want to give chase, but several more arms prevent this, causing them to destroy the arms. After a short battle, the distraction was good enough for Michelle to be already gone. The Siblings sigh and put away their weapons. Shima breathes a sigh of relief before taking out his phone to check the time. If regular school had started back up, he'd be only ten minutes late. The group decides with nothing more to do at this point to leave the forest. Seiya says she'll have to train with Rin and Shura soon.

Later that day in the cram school, the Kyoto Trio has returned, Koneko now sporting a cast on his left arm. Bon seems to be having issues reaching everybody in said town, Shima also saying he hasn't been able to get in touch with his family since yesterday. Kenta, however, looks at the two empty seats where Rin and Seiya should be. He knows they're off training, but he can't help but feel lonely without them around. Shima takes notice at Kenta's uneasy aura, and recalls what Seiya had told him at the hospital the other day, that she doesn't want him to fear her or the boys.

Before he decides to invite Kenta over to sit with them, someone enters the room. They think it's Yukio, when in fact it's actually Mephisto himself. He congratulates everyone on being able to participate in a real mission soon stating that he wants everyone to join the expedition in Kyoto. Bon is in shock; something is wrong. When he decided to come to True Cross Academy, he had brushed off his parents' rejections of it, and now he has to go back? Although Mephisto does not go into full detail of the situation, he does say for everyone to prepare themselves with the train leaving early tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile in the gym, Seiya trains herself in the batting cage, wanting to warm up for her candle exercise and get the energy flowing. Amaimon defies gravity, hanging on the ceiling reading another manga while his Familiar trains in a batting cage next to Seiya. The golden hobgoblin, having taken the size of a large dog, appears to have decent focus on the beginner level, swatting away the balls with his claws. The girl, however, occasionally has to dodge after increasing the difficulty to challenge herself. A ball eventually slips past her focus and beans her off the head causing her to fall over with swirls for eyes.

"Uh-oh, looks like Seiya failed again." Amaimon speaks. He falls down, flipping onto his feet and continues, "How many times has it been now? About 10 you've been struck by?"

As he snaps his fingers to stop the machine, Seiya sits up rubbing her forehead growling, "You just focus on the damn manga!"

Behemoth stops his machine and says, "_Oh boy, looks like you still have a long road ahead. But if it makes you feel better, Rin's still a lot worse than you~!_"

"He's more focused on his flames right now. I have a little more control compared, but I want to try and balance my training so I'm better prepared for any future battles. Especially considering this Impure King deal…I'm worried." Seiya replies stepping out of the cage.

"For all you know, you may not even be going to Kyoto. You might be stuck here." Amaimon says.

Seiya looks at him questionably asking, "Wait, that demon's in Kyoto?!"

The door suddenly opens and Mephisto steps through. This time he isn't alone, Ukobach is riding on his shoulder. Seiya is surprised to see the small Satyr demon.

"Ah, there you are, my dear!" Mephisto greets. "I wondered where you disappeared to."

Amaimon replies, "Yeah she wanted to do some training here. Though she's not doing so hot on the new difficulty."

"BE QUIET!" Seiya yells.

Mephisto chuckles saying, "Easy now, Seiya. You don't want to lose control of your flames."

"Tch, I'll be fine." Seiya responds before looking back at Ukobach. "So, what's he doing here?"

"Oh, well," Mephisto begins, "I could see Rin's blue flames from the rooftop of the dorm, so I figured you might be training with him. But when I learned you weren't there, I popped by the kitchen to see if Ukobach was teaching you any new dishes. Of course you weren't there either, and we started talking."

Ukobach continues, "_When he told me about Masami, how you said she had to leave to find her cousin, I felt pretty bad about it. So, I have decided to be your replacement for the time being. I may not be able to fly, but believe it or not, I can pack a punch._"

"W-wait, you want to be my Offensive Familiar?" Seiya asks confused.

Behemoth becomes jealous, "_No way, man! I already decided that!_"

"_But what if something were to happen or you weren't nearby? Even if she has Mizu, he still isn't strong enough just because he's still so young._" Ukobach says.

Behemoth is a bit taken aback when he sighs realizing the demon chef is right. Seiya then asks, "So wait, does this mean I'm going to Kyoto too?"

Mephisto answers, "Indeed it does~! Although you and the other Exwires will be helping in aiding those that have been incapacitated from their recent attack."

"Kyoto was attacked already? Man, whoever it was sure works fast!" Seiya says shocked.

"It's quite the problem. You see, the Right Eye was sealed over there while we had the Left Eye. However Seiya…" Mephisto explains, "Should the Impure King be revived, I want you as far away from the area as possible."

Seiya frowns, "Is it because the miasma affects me badly?"

"It isn't just that. Remember earlier today when Yukio asked you… Hmm, actually it's better if he explains it. Follow me." Mephisto goes to explain, but finds himself unable to.

Seiya is left slightly confused, but she knows what the tricky headmaster was about to ask. After Seiya had told Mephisto of Michelle having attacked again, Yukio approaches her asking her to follow him to the infirmary. She agrees, and once there he not only wanted to give her a few small syringes filled with an antidote to the miasma in case she gets effected by it, but wanted to take a small skin sample to test it against the poison. He brings up what occurred with the Exwire Exams and wants to be sure about something. She agrees. The girl looks at the bandage on her arm. It wasn't easy obtaining the sample as she went into a panic after Yukio explained what he was about to do.

Once at the infirmary, the group finds Yukio walking down the hall looking at some papers on a clipboard. Mephisto gains his attention. Yukio looks up and sees the group, and quickly realizes they're here for the results. He opens a door to his right, sees the room is empty and invites them in. Once he shuts the door, he collects his thoughts knowing this won't be an easy discussion.

Yukio begins, "I take it you're all here for the results, right?"

"Yes. I thought you might be able to explain it better." Mephisto answers.

"{…He wussed out?}" Yukio thinks. "Alright then. I've done a few tests and well, neither of them looked good at all."

Seiya asks, "I'm basically dead, aren't I?"

"Well…it's a bit hard to explain." Yukio begins. "Out of all I've done, Seiya, I think now that your true powers have surfaced, you're incredibly weak to not just miasma, but anything that is of the Rot Demon Type."

"You're kidding!" Seiya says in disbelief. "If that's true, then how come Kenta barely harms me at all?"

"You're used to his powers, plus he doesn't have true Rot Abilities yet, only flames. Although I can't fully explain why that is, any other Rot-Type will greatly harm you." Yukio answers.

Amaimon asks, "So then, what'll happen?"

Yukio explains, "If she comes in contact with miasma again, not only will she break out like the usual reaction, but she'll also develop severe burns, a high fever, and quite possibly enter a coma. Like I said, I've tried everything, even placing over a piece of the protective suit…it took longer, but the sample still reacted violently."

Seiya snaps, "The hell am I, a friggin' Grass Type Pokemon? This is ridiculous!"

"Unfortunately Seiya, it's the truth. While anything else that's Rot simply causes rashes or burns, miasma is your greatest weakness despite your powers. You were very lucky the first time; Rin reacted quickly enough, but you still had a severe reaction. The only difference is that the poison you previously encountered was liquid; this time it's gas. And I made sure to test both very carefully. Oh, that reminds me, you have healing abilities equal to a demon's; your skin should be just about healed." Yukio explains.

Confused, Seiya takes off the bandage and indeed finds the spot has almost fully healed. Yukio goes on that although she has regenerative abilities, it isn't as fast as a demon's, so she still needs to be careful. Amaimon, curious, asks if Seiya will still be able to participate in the expedition tomorrow. Yukio replies that although she is able, should the Impure King be revived at all, and the miasma builds within the area, that she is to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she really will die. The news hits her like a ton of bricks. Should this powerful demon be revived, she won't be able to fight it…she'll have no choice but to run this time.

That evening in the mansion, Seiya is packing her things into a suitcase placed on the bed. Ukobach tries to teach her how to pack so she isn't carrying anything too heavy or a bunch of bags. It doesn't come easy to her at all and eventually the girl gives up, throwing herself on the bed in defeat. Mephisto walks in, hearing the commotion and sees his bedroom in complete disarray. Not only were her clothes everywhere, but also trying to pack the right kimono or the correct yukata became a huge issue.

"Ukobach…" Mephisto starts, "What on earth happened in here?"

"_I was trying to teach her how to pack a suitcase, but…it was one huge fail._" Ukobach replies.

"Oh dear…" the demon king sighs. "I'll take it from here, Ukobach. You should prepare yourself too."

"_Oh, yeah you're right!_" the familiar says jumping off the bed. "_I was gonna head to bed early too! See you guys in the morning!_"

With Ukobach gone, Mephisto carefully and quietly closes the door, a smile growing on his face. He looks on the floor and picks up a pair of Seiya's panties; her clothes were all over the room, possibly from the suitcase exploding more than once. The king of time goes to look at Seiya, but finds she is no longer on the bed, but in the bathroom with the door open. He makes his way over, watching her as she stares into the mirror. The girl is clearly bothered about the upcoming mission and can't seem to handle the stress well.

When Mephisto comes into view with his reflection in the mirror, he gives her a gentle smile. Seiya notices and can't help but giggle a little, until she sees him hold up the pair of panties he grabbed off the floor, and flings it her way like a rubber band. It lands on her head to which she reacts by pulling it off her head and spinning around to shoot him a bit of a glare.

He speaks, "Dear Seiya, tonight is our last night together. Wouldn't you rather have a little fun to take the stress off your mind before the daylight wakes us?"

"I guess I haven't been in quite the mood since the first time, huh?" she responds walking towards him. "Although, once we're through with our little game, you need to help me pack. I'm clueless."

"Hehehe, of course, Schatz. Now then~…"


	25. Avoidance Game

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Hey guys! Things have strangely gotten hectic here. With my friend's Wedding quickly coming up on Sept 20th, and my dad having lost his job, everything just went to hell in a hand basket quicker than I thought. So these chapters might come out biweekly until things settle down. Please bare with me. **End Note.**

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

**Chapter 25:  
Avoidance Game**

"Mmmm~… 'Morning, Mephy." Seiya greets as she slowly begins to wake up, and gently kisses Mephisto on the cheek.

He chuckles softly and responds, "Good morning, my dear Seiya~." and kisses her forehead.

As the two begin to cuddle, Seiya's eyes shoot open wide, "Wait, morning?!"

"What's wr—" Mephisto goes to ask before realizing, his eyes opening wide, "OH CRAP!"

It's the next morning. Seiya and Mephisto had easily lost track of time, and she was never able to pack her suitcase for the trip to Kyoto. Luckily, the king of time already knows several tricks, and is able to aid her in the situation. The only problem is, Seiya will be running late and might not make the train. As she decides to take a quick shower, Mephisto has no choice but to make sure his brother is up and ready as well.

At the train station, Rin and Shura are already there, waiting for the train to arrive. Kuro has decided to go with his master and is excited about heading for Kyoto. As Rin reads through a booklet, Shura contacts Yukio asking about the tracking situation. His team is using one of her Snake Familiars who is able to point the group in the right direction. As she's filled in on their progress, Amaimon arrives just as the train starts to show up. Shura hangs up and demands to know where Seiya is, her attitude stronger than usual.

"Um, I'm probably going to be killed for this but, what crawled up your ass and died?" Amaimon asks, a bit taken aback by the attitude.

Shura growls, "It's early in the morning, and I feel like I'm gonna puke!"

"_She's clearly not a morning person…_" Behemoth says.

Everyone hears a call, "HEY GUYS! UP HERE!"

The group looks up to find Seiya flying in using Mephisto's transformed umbrella, a suitcase in her other hand, and Ukobach on her shoulder. She lands on the platform, and by counting to three in German, Seiya is able to return the umbrella to its original form.

"Keh, well, someone made an entrance!" Rin jokes. "But, how'd you do that?"

"Oh, this guy? Well, Mephisto made it so I can transform it by counting to three and I'll be able to fly. Plus…" she responds opening it up, "It makes a great parasol~!"

"What happened to Masami?" Shura asks.

Seiya answers, "She had to go find her cousin in another town yesterday. I'm hoping our bond will allow her to find me again. But, I'm not completely alone; Ukobach's joining me!"

The little Satyr demon makes himself known by jumping down from her shoulder and greeting the two. Kuro appears happy to see him and jumps down from Rin's shoulder to greet him. Shura then has to interrupt the fun saying they need to board the train. With that, the Familiars jump up onto their respective masters' shoulder and they all board the train. Shura leads them to Car 4, though it has filled up quickly with a large number of Exorcists, all with concerned faces at the sight of Rin. As he sits down in front, Seiya decides to sit next to him. Amaimon sits just across from them, and without a word pulls out his DS.

At that moment, the other Exwires begin to board the train, Mizu having followed Shiemi due to him staying at the garden last night. A bit excited to see so many people, Mizu happily rushes up to one of the Exorcists and, like a puppy, starts to beg for attention. However, when Shiemi spots Rin, she can't help but keep her distance, her nerves getting to her. Bon, Shima, and Koneko pass her, coming out of Car 3 from getting their precautionary injections, and also look at Rin. Seiya happily waves to them and signals for one of them to sit in the available seat next to her. Although Shima wouldn't mind considering Seiya is in the middle, Bon nods acknowledging her before looking over at Amaimon. The king of earth is well distracted with his game and doesn't even bat an eye.

With a sigh, Bon takes a seat behind Rin and Seiya, Koneko close behind not even bothering to look at either. Shima looks at the two and shrugs shaking his head before sitting behind them. Seiya has an idea why Bon doesn't want to sit with them, and she could tell Shima wanted to. But for Koneko to not even bat an eye, even at Amaimon, it has her bothered. Shima then hangs over her seat and taps her shoulder.

"Oh Seiya, I'm not sure if you know, but in Car 3, they're giving precautionary injections to the Exwires. You might want to go get yours." Shima says.

Seiya reveals the small bandage on her right arm saying, "I actually got mine yesterday from Yukio. He wanted to test something with a skin sample, so he gave it to me then."

"A skin sample?" he asks. This gains Rin and Bon's attention; although he isn't showing it, Koneko is listening.

Seiya responds, "Yeah. He wanted to see how I'd react to the two different miasma types now that my powers revealed themselves. While the liquid gives burns and more minor things, like with what happened during the exams, the gas will…well, it could kill me with pure ease. The boils, rashes, burns, a fever, possible coma…if the Impure King is revived, I have no choice but to run or that's it."

"{…Wait…S-Seiya could…die? Just like that?}" Koneko thinks, shocked by the news.

"Wait, Impure King? Is that a demon?" Shima asks.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling that'll be explained soon." Seiya says, trying to smile.

"{That's not good! But, if that's true, why would they send her anyway?}" Bon thinks.

Rin asks, "So then, what does this mean for your future as an Exorcist?"

Seiya responds with confidence, "For one, I'm not letting it get in my way. I plan on becoming an Exorcist! Not to mention, I have you guys and my brother; I know you'll always be there for me regardless."

Amaimon looks over, pulling a lollipop from his pocket, "{Oy Seiya, you're really trying to ignore your fears, aren't you? Although, I can't tell if you're ignoring them, or you're simply trying to hide them behind those smiles.}"

At that moment, Kenta and Izumo enter the car. They look around and find everyone on the left side. The Takenaka Siblings spot each other, and Seiya immediately stands up and steps into the aisle as Kenta marches towards her. They embrace each other in a tight hug, clearly missing each other from being separated so suddenly. Shima then suggests Izumo sit across from him, but she decides to sit in the spare seat near Rin. When Shura appears and asks is everyone is accounted for, the Takenaka Siblings quickly take their seats, Kenta sitting right in front of his sister. Kyou eventually pops out of his coat and greets everyone.

As the train starts to leave the station, Shura introduces herself, saying she was "forced against her will" to be the captain of the reinforcement squad. She then asks an Exorcist from the Intelligence Division to explain the situation. He goes over the issue of the Left Eye being stolen, saying that it was indeed Toudou Saburouta that had taken it, though they still don't know any accomplices or his true intentions. Shura continues that at the same time, the branch in Kyoto was attacked, though this time the crime was thwarted, they know that Toudou is aiming for the Right Eye of the Impure King.

Izumo expresses that they never learned of the Impure King, asking what it is. Shura states that while the demon isn't considered a major one, the stories of it don't exactly make it sound tame. So she has Adachi, another Exorcist part of the squad, explain the Impure King. He explains that within the last years of the Edo Period, but within the 5th year of the Ansei Era, the Impure King was an upper class demon said to spread disease on an epidemic level, and believed to be the root cause of 40,000 deaths. It is said that a monk by the name of Fukaku, confronted the demon and had somehow removed the Right and Left Eyes, suppressing the demon. However, despite the fact they are just eyes, they still give off strong miasma, making it very dangerous.

While Rin doesn't seem impressed with Fukaka thinking the guy was showing off, Shura continues that while the intentions of the enemy are still unclear, they do know that the enemy plans on restoring an evil entity. One of the reasons the squad was created was to prevent the Right Eye from being stolen. The other is that they are to help nurse those injured and reinforcing the now-weakened security of the Kyoto Branch. She finishes off saying for everyone to work together.

After that, some time passes, and Shura has fallen asleep. Amaimon now reads a Hellsing manga to try and pass the time as Behemoth keeps track of Mizu, who continues to greet each Exorcist on board. Seiya has been texting Mephisto ever since, wanting nothing more than to be back at the academy with him, now nervous about the Impure King. Kenta wonders why Emi and Hayato aren't within this squad, though he figures they may be part of another one, and focuses in his Pokemon team. Kuro sleeps on Rin's bag with Kyou somewhat wrapped around him, and Ukobach happily reads through a recipe book, already trying to think of a dish he can put together for the injured.

Nervous, Rin finally asks Izumo is she's scared of him or the Siblings, since no one else would sit close to them. She responds by saying that she isn't scared or anything of the three. It's actually common knowledge that humans can be related to demons by blood, with most of them being Exorcists. The only issue with the three is that one is the son of Satan leaving the Order unsure of what to really do; Seiya's problem is needing to learn to control her powers; and Kenta is really the only odd-man out that the Order isn't as wary on, but supports what she's saying. When she concludes that there's no point in making such a huge deal out of it, Rin thanks her for being on their side.

However, Izumo once more starts up another fire, by saying she hates cowards who say one thing, but end up running away at the most crucial of moments after spouting pretty words, referring to the fact that the others are avoiding them because of what occurred. Bon immediately takes offense to her statement, and Izumo responds with her usual attitude.

Within minutes, everyone is in an empty car being given the collective Baryon Punishment, similar to what Yukio had done; even Amaimon is being given the punishment as well. Only this time, instead of just it being due to the quarrel between Izumo and Bon, the other reason is waking Shura, whose anger is more than clear as she storms back into the other car; the group is to remain this way until they reach Kyoto. Of course, Seiya doesn't last long at all and passes out with swirls for eyes.

Shima comments how it's like déjà vu, the quarrel being the cause and Seiya passing out. Amaimon sighs, takes the Baryon, and does some weight lifting with it, seeing it as a challenge considering the demon only gets heavier as time passes. Koneko suddenly lets his fear known, questioning why Shura left Rin like this, commenting if anything happens, things would become dangerous. Kenta growls that if anything did happen, Seiya would be able to counter, not to mention the fact he and Amaimon are with them, so counter measures can be taken. The Baryon on Koneko's lap all of a sudden springs to life, rocketing into the air before slamming down on Shiemi, pinning her to the floor.

With this emergency, the others manage to push off their Baryons. Bon and Shima try to lift it off, but it's already gained too much weight. Koneko says they should get Shura, but Bon restates that they shouldn't wake her. As Shima puts together the Kri'k, he says that the only way to shatter these demons is to incinerate them at high heat. So he tries to heat it up by rubbing the staff on it, but can't make a dent. Amaimon, being the strongest, tries to lift the Baryon off himself. Surprisingly, it won't budge. Seiya finally recovers and wakes up, seeing the scene. Amaimon rubs the back of his head thinking of letting someone else handle this when Seiya tells him that something powerful is within the Baryon, which is the only reason why it's acting like this.

An interesting dare, Amaimon doesn't bother thinking twice, deciding to reveal more of his true form. A serpent-like tail appears from his backside, his arms become much more muscular, his ears become longer, and two horns grow on his head; all of these (save the ears) are green with red markings. Before he does anything, Kenta gets on the other side, and together the two attempt to lift the Baryon. Seiya tries firing small fireballs at it, thinking maybe it'll weaken enough to become lighter at the very least. Despite this combination, the Baryon refuses to move a centimeter. Rin decides it's his turn. Kenta moves back and sits on the floor saying if even Amaimon at his full strength can't lift the Baryon, then neither can Rin.

Rin brushes that off, and together with the earth king tries to lift the rock demon. Seiya once more shoots more fireballs, but even this combo still has no effect. Amaimon starts calling bullshit on the situation when Rin starts flaring up, determined to remove the Baryon. To Shiemi's surprise, it isn't hot like fire would be, but instead is only warm. Bon tries to stop Rin, grabbing his arm, but this results in the Baryon flying off somewhere, and the seats lighting on fire. Shima starts to panic thinking they should get the Exorcists as Seiya tries to counter the flames with hers, but Shiemi steps up saying they shouldn't make a big fuss out of everything, since Rin didn't go beserk. That means they can be put out with holy water.

Thinking quickly, Izumo summons one of her fox spirits, Uchimochi. The Byakko asks what she called him for, and she responds needing the sacred wine to put out the flames; even if it isn't holy water, it's worth a shot. Responding to her chant, Uchimochi does as requested, and the wine is poured on the seats, effectively putting out the flames.

"Dayum…" Kenta starts, "They've been burned to cinders! Well, either way, at least the crisis is averted, right?"

"For now, but where'd the Baryons go? They just disappeared." Seiya responds. "Oh, and Amaimon, you should return to your human form before one of the Exorcists see you."

"Yeah, I guess I should." Amaimon agrees, reverting back.

At that point Rin confronts Bon, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt yelling, "Why'd you get in the way like that? Everything was under control!"

"What do you mean 'under control'?" Bon shoots back.

Seiya facepalms, dragging her hand down the length of her face, "{Oh boy, here we go…}"

Rin barks to have faith in him. But Bon responds saying why should he have faith, when people from his temple died in those blue flames sixteen years ago. He goes on that his grandfather, Shima's grandfather and oldest brother, and Koneko's father all died that night. Adamant about his blue flames killing people, the followers of the temple were like family to him. And after all the things that happened, how could he have faith in Rin? Pushing his anger, Rin feels bad that such awful things had happened, but comes back arguing they had nothing to do with him.

Bon then comes to the realization, that Rin too said he wanted to defeat Satan too. Rin's goal is still the same, and he begins to grow a flame on his head as he warns him not to lump him together with Satan. At that moment, Koneko grabs Rin's sleeve, begging the two to stop. He goes on to say that if anything happens to Bon, he and Shima wouldn't be able to show their faces at the temple again.

Seiya takes a breath saying, "Phew, looks like my words haven't gotten through to you two, huh?"

Koneko looks at her, terror in his face, "W-what do you mean?"

"Koneko, did you ever really read the note I gave you with those 'get well' gifts?" Seiya asks crossing her arms.

"Hey yeah, there was something in there, Koneko!" Shima recalls. "I even read it to you. And I told you what she told me."

Koneko isn't sure what to say. He simply lowers his head and looks away. "…Koneko…does this mean you fear me too?" Seiya asks.

Before he could attempt to respond, Shima spots the Baryon about to slam down on Bon. Amaimon is about to smash it himself, but he's cut off by Shura coming to the rescue, breaking it into pieces with her sword in midair. She lands on the seats and looks at the group.

"Dammit Shura, I was gonna do that!" Amaimon nearly whines.

Shura responds, "You be quiet." She looks at the group, sighs, and says, "You guys can't even take on a small fry like that? What will you do when the real deal comes along? Are you just gonna hamper each other like that? Do that, and you'll die."

The Exwires fall silent. By now, they should know that disorder like this will only lead to failure, but for a few, it doesn't seem to have settled in yet. Shura tells them to take their seats as they'll be arriving in Kyoto soon. Without words, the group heads back to the other car, returning to their seats. Unbeknownst to them, someone has been keeping close watch in next car.

They soon arrive within Kyoto, exiting the train station there. An errand boy from the Kyoto Branch waits there to meet them, and before long leads them to a bus that's been waiting. The Exwires know this would be one long bus ride, as no one is speaking to each other at the moment, all gathered in an even smaller space. Shima isn't liking how heavy the atmosphere has become within the group. Even Mizu shows his discomfort by the worried look on his face. Ukobach, Behemoth, and Kuro are more absorbed in taking in the sights along the way to the temple. Seiya on the other hand, sends continuous updates via texts.

_Seiya:  
I don't like where this is going, Mephisto. All the kids seems to be at pure odds with each other all because of this ongoing bull._

_Mephisto:  
Unfortunately my dear, there isn't a whole lot I can do. Don't try to be a constant diffuser of the group; you might get caught on fire yourself, and I don't mean by your flames._

_Seiya:  
But someone's got to put up the shield and drop the sword._

_Mephisto:  
Like I said, Schatz. They'll have to deal with it themselves. You can bring a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink._

_Seiya:  
…I guess you're right._

After a little time, the bus arrives at the temple. The group is shown inside where Bon is the one receiving a warm welcome by the followers there. Save for Koneko and Shima who appear to be in better spirits being back, the rest of the group is left a little confused. Wanting all the attention as he is getting cranky, Mizu jumps out in front of the group trying to be playful with the people around. Seiya and Ukobach, who is riding on her shoulder, can only facepalm at this.


	26. Birds of a Feather

**Author's Note:** Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)

Oh my god you guys, I deeply apologize for this being so badly delayed; I did not mean for that to happen. A lot has happened over the last month, it kept me from updating anything. Drama exploded on DA, I got attacked on DA, Writer's Block, my friend's wedding, me being sick for two weeks, working on teams for ORAS...just a lot of shit happened. Hopefully this won't happen again. **End Note.**

Legend:  
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "_abc_"  
Demon Telepathy: "_{abc}_"  
Demon Thoughts: "_{[abc]}_"

****Chapter 26:  
Birds of a Feather****

With the group adjusting to their new surroundings, Masami watches from a distance perched on a roof of another building. She was correct in that she and Seiya would reunite, but she didn't expect it to be Kyoto or this soon. Regardless, she can sense her cousin is somewhere nearby as another feather pops off her body. Needing to stay out of sight of her master as well as avoid detection by the other Familiars, Masami waits for everyone to enter the temple. After a few minutes, she takes flight, flying high into the sky above.

"{Young Master…for some reason, I sense a great danger here. But I can't place my talon on what it is just yet. Please, be careful.}" the avian thinks.

The day's progression goes by slowly for everyone. Masami can't bring herself to leave the temple's area, sensing something within. As she rests perched in a tree, she notices an old man dressed as a priest sneaking around. Something within this old man calls to her, a familiar aura. Masami flies over and lands in front of him. He is surprised to see the avian, but instead of drawing a weapon, he tries talking with her.

"Well hello there, Air Demon." he starts. "Is there something I could help you with?"

She stares at him for a moment then answers, "My name is Masami, Familiar to Seiya Takenaka. I sense within you an aura all too familiar to me."

"Ah what a pretty name! But I'm not sure of this aura you speak of."

"I sense an avian demon on you."

"…Hahaha, you must be mistaken! I don't have a Familiar!"

"Oh yes you do. And I plan on drawing it out."

"{Uh-oh, Karura might kill me…} Come now, there's no need for fighting."

Immediately Masami begins to peck at the old man's head, but this doesn't last very long as the strong smell of alcohol clogs her nose. Feeling the pressure, the old man's Familiar finally appears. Red flames spew out of seemingly nowhere, calming down in an instant revealing a bird-like Familiar. His face is human, and the helmet he wears resembles a bird of prey. When this small demon looks at Masami, his eyes widen.

"M-Masami?" he speaks. "Is that you?"

Masami replies happily almost bouncing up and down, "Cousin Karura! I knew you were around here somewhere! But, what are you doing with this drunk old man?"

Karura looks at the old man, then back at his cousin, sighs, and responds, "It's a long story, let's put it that way for now."

"Look, Karura, I know you love the whole secrecy deal, but we got a problem on our wings here." she says, another feather popping off her.

"Yes, I know." Karura says before looking at the old man. "Tatsuma, I'm afraid I'll be leaving for a while to catch up with my cousin. I shall return when I sense a great urgency."

Tatsuma scratches his head confused asking, "Does this violate our contract?"

Karura shakes his head saying, "Not in the least."

"Well then, you two be careful." Tatsuma says before climbing over one of the temple walls.

Masami watches saying, "He's um…well…"

"Fufufu, think what you wish. So, shall we head off into the skies?"

"Sure."

The two avians take off into the skies, using the clouds for cover. As they try to stay close to the area, Karura explains to Masami that his contract with Tatsuma has been a long running and tough one. He stresses wanting to be kept a secret which makes things difficult for his master, however, Tatsuma is able to use his fire abilities very well. He even used to be a part of Kurikara over 140 years ago under the ownership of the monk Fukaku, but after the defeat of Impure King, he left it. Masami tells him that the blade now houses Rin's demonic powers that were sealed within it shortly after him and his brother were born. When she tells him that Rin is the son of Satan, Karura is amazed; the sword had kept things sealed for fifteen long years before it could no longer carry that power.

Masami goes on to tell her cousin about being under Seiya's ownership, and how much she cares for the fragile girl. She had summoned her during an exercise in class, and along with Mizu, has grown more than attached to her, allowed to come and go as she pleases. Once more Karura is amazed as he says that the last thing Masami told him was to be controlled by a human. Thing is, Seiya and her brother aren't quite human. Like Rin, they too are part something, with Kenta being part demon, and Seiya part Fallen Angel. Karura laughs at this, knowing the story of the Fallen Angel. Although he has never met the angel himself, generations of his family have passed down the story.

The two eventually perch on a tall building to rest, and Masami asks Karura about a situation she experienced a while ago. She asks him about responding to Seiya losing control, like how she did in her second encounter with Amaimon, but not the third. The avian explains that she and even Mizu transformed when Seiya lost control, however, while Mizu turned and attacked Ukobach and Kuro, Masami refused to attack and wasted energy restraining herself. Karura nods and says he has a theory.

"I think I see the problem, Masami." he begins. "As you mentioned before, Seiya is part Fallen Angel. When she lost control of her powers, it was clearly out of fear, not anger. When that fear overwhelmed her, it also carried over to you two, causing the change to occur. I know you Masami, you are very strong in every sense of the word, and your loyalty to your master proves that. Mizu is still just a baby, so it's natural for him to lose control and respond from the same fear Seiya's experiencing. The only reason it didn't happen when her true form showed itself was because she overcame her fear of Amaimon, and was able to fight bravely until her flames died down. Heheh, that also explains why the Earth King has become her pet."

"So, you're telling me that the reason Baby Mizu and I transformed like that was because we were responding to her fear?" Masami asks.

Karura nods, "Precisely. Fear is a very powerful emotion. You responded because you were afraid for her, afraid she might be hurt or worse. Mizu responded because he is like Seiya's child; they are mirrors of their parents, so whatever she feels, he's bound to feel. Him attacking familiar demons sounds like he was scared of what was going on and couldn't handle the overwhelming power."

"…It…it all makes perfect sense." Masami says astounded. "But then, why did Kuro not transform when Rin lost control? Both him and Mizu were never summoned, but the contract exists, right?"

"There is a difference between Summoned Familiars and Earthbound Demons. Kuro, Mizu, and I are not Summoned; we live freely within Assiah. Although I can sense with Kuro, he used to be a normal cat, then became a demon. Anyway, those bound to Assiah only have contracts; we can choose freely if we want to fight or run away from things, including our masters. Those Summoned don't have quite the same freedom, as they appear to those strong enough to control them. It is when their master loses focus or becomes weak in the heart that Familiars turn on them; it is this that makes a connection between Tamers and Familiars." Karura explains.

"Huh. That makes a lot of sense too, but what about Mizu?"

"Like I said before, Mizu and Seiya are maternally connected. She sees him as her child of sorts, and he sees her as his mother. What he is exactly, I'm not positive on, so I'd need a good look at him first."

"Amazing. Who would've thought a bond like that would be so strong between a human and a demon."

"Hahaha, maybe if you had kids, you'd understand the maternal instinct."

"Me, produce chicks? Not into that right now."

"Maybe not but, you have an almost similar thing going on with Seiya, is this not true?"

"…"

"Ah, so it is. That's why you refuse to harm your master; you see her as if she were your own."

"…But, how do I even have this instinct?"

"Masami, you may not want to have kids of your own, but deep down inside all of us is a maternal instinct. Whether it is weak or strong does not define how we feel about someone."

"…Cousin Karura, how did you become so wise?"

"Kukuku, I have many years on you, don't forget."

"True."

"Hey, I have an idea. Remember how we used to fly around aimlessly? How about we do that for a while?"

"It's definitely been a long time. Let's do it!"

With that, Masami and Karura take to the skies as he takes the lead. A few minutes into the aimless flight, Masami asks her cousin if she'll ever obtain a human-like form like Karura; her mother had a human-like form while her father was just a bird. He responds that there is a way to obtain the form she so desires, but she'll have to discover it for herself, giving a mischievous smirk. She pecks him on the head disliking his enigmatic ways.

Sometime later, they come to a mountainous area where there is a battle taking place. A deer-like demon is facing off against a large spider demon. Both avians find the spider demon out of place. Soon enough, the deer demon is trapped in the spider's sticky webs placed all over some of the trees. Masami and Karura look at each other, and decide to help the deer. They fly up high, their elements surrounding their bodies so that they are encased in fire and electricity. Back-to-back, they spin as they dive in, gaining speed quickly, before finally smashing into the spider, blowing a hole through its backside. The spider lets out a screech before it collapses and turns to ash. Karura uses his fire powers to carefully burn away the web, revealing the deer.

It is mostly a Fallow Deer in appearance, though its antlers say otherwise. The demon is a very deep red on the top half of its body with neon green spots, while it is a dark grey on the bottom half. A single white stripe runs from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. Its antlers are more like four horns that jut out from its head (similar to the Pokemon Xerneas), extending like that of a tree. Its eyes are purple. At that moment its antlers become smaller, morphing into goat-like horns.

Both Masami and Karura are intrigued by this demon, but are more curious about what a giant spider demon was doing in the forest. The deer responds that he is not sure either, but there has been some disturbing imbalances lately in the area; that spider is proof. The deer demon introduces himself as Ayumu, soon saying he has lost track of his partner. Masami and Karura introduce themselves and ask where he last saw them. Ayumu replies that he last saw his partner near a pond not too far from the mountain saying they were separated by the spider.

"Well in that case," Masami starts, "it'd be rude of us not to help you look for them."

Ayumu asks, eyes lighting up, "Y-you'll really help me find him?"

"You bet." Masami responds.

Karura's eyes widen in surprise and shock asking, "W-wait…d-did you just say your partner…is a GUY?"

"Of course. Does that bother you?" Ayumu replies, tilting his head.

Masami looks at her cousin asking, "Is something the matter, Karura?"

"I…I'm sorry, I was just caught off guard." Karura says hanging his head.

Ayumu says, "It's okay. It catches everyone off guard for some reason."

"Anyway, we should probably hurry and find him." Karura goes, both Masami and Ayumu nodding in agreement.

A few moments later, the trio explores the forest, looking for the pond. Masami has taken the lead in the air as Karura flies through the trees. Ayumu is stuck on the ground, but has no issue easily avoiding obstacles along the way, gracefully leaping over logs and such. As they near the pond, his horns transform back into the branched antlers, being cautious about any dangers that might be lingering.

They arrive at the pond, and find the water to be filthy, something Ayumu confirms was not just a while ago. Even the plants in the area appear to be dead, putting the group on full alert. Then, just to their side appears a nasty sight. A vulture-looking demon appears, but looks as though it has been decaying for a long time. Its abdomen is missing precious skin layers, leaving a near transparent layer left. The trio can see something wriggling inside its stomach as it lets out a cry. Ayumu knows this cry; it's his partner. On its boney face, the vulture smiles.

"Hmm, this demon has come in contact with a creature most foul." Karura says, sensing something. "I think it has been possessed by an even stronger force that suffers from a never-ending hunger."

"Oh great, it's possessed? Wait…how does a demon get possessed?" Masami asks.

Ayumu responds, "You'd be amazed. If there is a stronger demon that can possess others, they can take over the minds of weaker demons very easily. I've seen it happen before. Karura's right."

The vulture speaks, "….huuungryyyy….so….HUNGRY!"

The giant bird attacks and the group avoids, causing the vulture to crash into the ground. Masami goes to shock it but remembers Ayumu's partner is inside the demon's stomach; he could get zapped too. She decides to send razor-like blades of wind at it instead, slicing off its wings. Karura sends a flurry of flames at it, burning away any remaining decaying flesh and feathers. Ayumu rushes at the demon, head lowered and bashes through the demon like a bowling ball into pins. It falls apart, its skeleton and organs flying everywhere. They start to turn to ash, disappearing rather quickly.

As its stomach disappears, it reveals Ayumu's partner. He is a much bigger deer, almost completely elk in appearance. His fur is a deep golden color, just bordering copper with deep pink-ish spots all over his body. His antlers are in a rounded sickle-like shape.

Ayumu rushes over to him, nudging him to get up. The birds fly over as the elk demon slowly stands up, his eyes opening to reveal beautiful emerald eyes, and shakes off the stomach fluid. Masami finds herself in awe of the elk's beauty. Without a word, the elk looks straight at the filthy pond and dying plant life. He walks over to the pond, dips his foot in, and the pink spots begin to glow, being followed by his eyes. The pond suddenly begins to purify, becoming crisp and clear like before. This odd power also passes on to the plant life, and everything is restored, looking healthier than it did previously.

"Such regenerative powers… I haven't seen something like this in a long time." Karura says astounded.

Ayumu giggles saying, "That's because Chiharu is the descendant of a demon with strong regenerative powers. They call it Healing Earth."

Chiharu turns to face the group and says, "Healing Earth is my line's signature ability. It's the first thing we do after a battle, even if we are on the verge of death. It is also the first thing we do when we enter desolate areas, giving it new life."

"Wow, sounds like your line is very loyal to Assiah." Masami says.

"Keheh, actually, we are." Chiharu answers. "Although one side of the line started in Gehenna, the majority of the side with this ability comes from Assiah, back to a time where humans and demons existed together."

"There was a time like that?" Masami asks.

"Yes. It was a much more peaceful time before - pardon the expression - the shit hit the fan." Chiharu explains.

The birds stand amazed.

Ayumu says, "Anyway, thank you for helping me rescue Chiharu. We couldn't be more grateful."

"It was nothing." Masami says.

Chiharu looks at Masami sensing something and asks, "May I ask you something, Miss? Would you be in a contract with a human?"

"Well, yes and no." Masami replies. "It's a bit of a long story, but to make it short, she's actually a Fallen Angel; her brother's a demon."

The deer demon are surprised, though Ayumu appears more angered.

"A Fallen Angel…" Chiharu thinks, "I think I may have heard of such a thing. One of my ancestors was cared for by him."

"Masami…you're aligned with a human?" Ayumu growls.

Masami responds confused, "Well, yes, but she is a very good human. She fights for Assiah, and seeks to destroy Satan, just like his two sons."

"Sons? Wait, he has more than three?" Chiharu says. "There's Samael, Amaimon, and Lucifer…did he have more?"

"Apparently. Rin and Yukio Okumura." Masami replies.

This comes as a shock to Chiharu. However, his partner seems more disgusted with the fact Masami has a contract with a human. Karura suggests an explanation. The group agrees. With that, Chiharu invites the bird demons back to his den, which isn't very far from the pond; he and his partner have made this area their home years ago, as it's far from human activity. This prompts Masami to ask why Ayumu dislikes humans so much if the both of them are loyal to Assiah. The deer sighs and explains that he's had a rough run-in with humans over the years, often protecting the weaker docile demons from harm as well as local animals within the areas he lived. With the construction of cities and towns, he's had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to survive, one of them being having to leave his sibling behind upon their demand when they were attacked.

However, he explains that despite the hell he has been put through, he prefers to remain in Assiah instead of Gehenna, his loyalty to his animal friends and the docile demons still strong as ever. He eventually met Chiharu one day and the two instantly clicked, especially when they found out neither were attracted to females. They've been together ever since.

That night, at the temple, Seiya finds herself helping a drunken Bon back to his room. When the Exwires were able to grab their dinners, Shura had accidentally given them alcohol, confusing it with the cans of juice. Once he was settled, she finds Mizu passed out in the hallway; the little guy is completely drained from using his healing abilities all day, and the excitement of meeting new people has left him even more exhausted. Ukobach exits the room with the patients, and sees the scene. After a chuckle, he wastes no time in growing bigger to carry Mizu. The three head back to her room, and find a surprising sight. On her bed sleeps a small white dog.

"{What? How'd Mephy get here?}" she thinks.

Seiya walks over to the sleeping dog and gently shakes it. It wakes up and looks at her, and without a doubt, it's the king of time.

"Ah Schatz, there you are. Seems like you had a long day; you look exhausted." he speaks.

"Uh, Mephisto, what are you doing here?" Seiya asks.

Mephisto goes into a stretch answering, "Oh I just couldn't bear to be without your company back at the academy. So I hopped on the next train to Kyoto and got here not too long ago, but the trip was tiring. Not to mention, I think I used more energy sneaking around this place."

As Ukobach places Mizu on his blanket, he asks sounding irritated, "_If you were going to come anyway, then why am I here?_"

"Ukobach, you're replacing Masami for now, remember?" Mephisto responds. "Plus, I can't transform out of this dog form here anyway. That is of course, unless some fun is to be had~."

"I don't think playing the bouncy bed game here is a good idea. You're not exactly silent." Seiya grumbles.

Mephisto's ears stand straight up and his eyes widen out of pure shock as he says, his voice getting high pitched, "Seiya Takenaka! H-how DARE you!"


End file.
